


Chasing You Among The Stars

by lordmediator



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders is a Sweetheart, Anxious Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders is a Good Friend, Dark Magic, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, Human Sides (Sanders Sides), Inspired by Sanders Sides, M/M, Magic, Morality | Patton Sanders is a Good Friend, Multi, Slow Burn, Stars, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Thomas Sanders References, Warlocks, logan san
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-09-24 01:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 38,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17091215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordmediator/pseuds/lordmediator
Summary: Born under the dark arts, and raised by the most wanted criminal in the kingdom, Virgil casts a dangerous spell that allows him to escape the clutches of his enemies. And by escape, I mean escape to another dimension, where apparently, magic doesn't exist.





	1. Oh, I'm Sorry. Was I Not Wanted At This Exact Second?

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A meeting of two worlds!(Sanders Sides-Analogical)](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/499267) by iraeim. 



“After him!”

“Halt!”

Shouts from the guards echoed around him, even as Virgil was flying at full speed. The wind rushing against his face, blurs of green, brown and blue as he sped through the forest. He had hoped running into the forest would slow down the knights, but it seemed to only aggravate them more, as he could still hear Roman barking orders to his fellow guards. Ignoring the small cracks and splinters he felt as he gripped the handle of his wooden broom, Virgil recalled his brother’s last words to him, the image of fear and sadness etched onto his brother’s face engraved into his mind.

_“VIRGIL, RUN! AND WHATEVER YOU DO… DON’T LOOK BACK!”_

He wanted to run back into his brother’s arms, he wanted to look back at his guardian one last time, as he heard what sounded like struggling, screaming and swords clashing, along with mantras of defensive spells. But it was too late. Virgil wordlessly obeyed, a single tear slipping out of his left eye, his heart aching at the thought of leaving his only family behind. 

Conjuring up the old broomstick he was used to flying with, he hopped on, and flew away as fast as he could. He couldn’t fly high because that meant the knights and other possible enemies could spot him easily and shoot him out of the sky, so he opted to stay low to the ground, using the trees in the forest as camouflage. 

Thankful that he was wearing a black tunic with purple trim, and black slacks, that made him not so easy to find. His pointy black hat was sort of a giveaway, but he would never throw away the gift he got from his brother after Virgil’s first successfully casted spell. Not only that, his hat concealed his purple highlights that would only further identify him. He could lose the black cape though.

“Over here! I think he just passed by!”

“Halt!”

“Shit!” Virgil muttered as he somehow heard another guard nearby. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”

He needed to do something fast. By this point, Virgil would reach the end of the forest, and it would be nothing but clear fields of land, and he’d be done for. Plus, the fact that he was running out of energy, most of it having been spent of flying through the forest with his broom, would leave Virgil with not a lot to defend himself with. 

Unless…

The idea hit him like a brick falling onto his head. It was a crazy, risky and very dangerous idea, one that might cost him his life, and leave his brother’s sacrifice in vain. His brother had warned him that no matter how powerful you were, he should never attempt the particular spell he one he was thinking of. 

But he couldn’t stay here. Anywhere else was better than here. 

He could try to flee to another country, start a new life, give up magic, give up being a dark wizard. But how does one give up their identity? Virgil grew up like this. It wasn’t his fault. Why did he have to hide who he truly was? His brother would like that actually. Virgil starting a new life. Maybe as a simple human? A painter, maybe? He’s always liked art. Or maybe an actor or opera singer? It was rational and logical idea. Something he could do. 

An idea that rocked him with anxiety. 

Starting a new life in a foreign country meant he had to adjust to their customs, make new friends or acquaintances, get used to new people. Oh god, he was already an anxious mess in the crowds of his old kingdom, how could he handle the crowds of a kingdom he’s never been to? Without his brother and Roman no less… 

Taking a sharp turn to the left, where Virgil knew the cliff was, he felt his heart beat like it was running a marathon, the adrenaline rushing through his veins and the palms of his hand begin to sweat. Soon, Virgil saw the cliff, illuminated by the bright sunlight at the edge. The warlock began to cite the spell.

_“Traveling to another dimension?” Young Virgil asked, with curious eyes._

_“Yes!” His older brother confirmed, a small smile on his lips, as he pointed at the spell written on the old book with yellow pages. “However, it is a very dangerous spell. Traveling to another dimension can drain a magic user’s energy almost completely."_

_“That sounds scary.” Virgil said, biting his lips at the thought. “Why would anyone cast this spell then?”_

_The older man affectionately patted the younger’s head. “That’s because people are curious about what other worlds are like. Do they have no magic? How does their government work? What are their customs?”_

_“Isn’t there a saying about how curiosity can kill you?”_

“ _Yes, there is.” His brother exclaimed proudly. “Which is why you have to promise me that you’ll never ever use this spell. Ok, storm cloud?”_

_“Ok, I promise.”_

Fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill, as the last word of the spell slipped from his mouth, Virgil saw a green vortex steadily grow right above the cliff’s edge. At the same time, spots started dancing in his eyes, his arms feeling like cement, sweat dripping down his face and dizziness overtaking his head. 

_I’m sorry, brother. I broke my promise…_

“VIRGIL!”

The warlock had no time nor the energy to turn his head to whoever called him. All he knew was that he was heading straight into the green portal that cracked little sparks of white lightning every so often, and embraced for whatever he would find on the other side. 

Zooming into the portal, he could hear thunder rumbling all around him, flashes of lightning in different color. 

_Too loud… All too loud…_

Instinctively shutting his eyes, Virgil felt himself being pulled. In what direction? He couldn’t tell, as the thunder and lightning noise was too distracting for him to focus. The pounding in his head was growing, almost overpowering the chaos all around him. 

Suddenly, the lightning and thunder slowly faded, and the flashes of color were gone. Now all Virgil could feel was a cold and crispy air prickling his skin, as if it was nighttime. Yet, through the slits in his eyes, he could make out a warm, soft glow, as if whatever was in front of him was covered in candles. 

Slowly, Virgil opened his eyes. At first, he was confused, as he saw a pair of slightly parted lips. And then he saw the most beautiful pair of brown eyes he had ever seen, before everything turned dark.


	2. But Anxiety's The Fairest Of Them All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to post chapter two because it's the holidays, and I finished this earlier than expected.

“VIRGIL!”

Roman screamed his friend’s name, but alas, it was too late. His best friend was sucked into the green vortex, and the captain could do nothing but stare at the open space, his heart thumping in his chest. 

_What the dragon witch was that?!_

His thoughts went back to the green vortex. Roman knew conjuring something like that had to be one of the forbidden spells. But which one? While Roman possessed his own powerful magic, he was not knowledgeable on a lot of forbidden spells, dark arts spells no less. Mainly because he grew up under the light arts, with supportive mentors and friends. Virgil only had his brother, who could only teach him everything under the dark arts. 

_Virgil…_

His heart welled up at the thought of his best friend, who didn’t deserve to be discriminated, treated like an outcast. While most warlocks who studied dark magic did become evil, he knew in his heart that Virgil was not evil, despite his background and appearance.

“Captain!” 

Turning around, Roman saw three of his guards, red-faced from the chase, and heaving from running around trying to cover more ground. “We’ve lost sight of the warlock.” One of them said. 

Roman stared at the emblem on their uniform. A black and greenish blue circle with a sun at the top and a blue crown in the middle. The symbol of the Sanders kingdom. Roman had always dreamed of becoming a knight, saving people, serving his kingdom, protecting his friends and family. But lately, he was starting to question if doing his duty, meant that he had to break families apart. His heart was screaming at him: this is wrong. So very very _very_ wrong.

“Double-check the area.” Roman commanded, his voice and face unusually cold. “Leave no stone unturned. If there was anything left behind by the warlock or any clues as to where he could’ve gone, report back immediately.”

What could he do though? He was the only one that knew of Virgil’s true nature, and his past. Even if he pleaded to their merciful king, he was alone, and didn’t have enough evidence to support his claim.  
“Yes, captain!” The three went off and Roman was left alone to stare at the cliffside.

He’d always been conflicted between his duties as the captain of the royal guards and his affectionate feelings he’s developed as Virgil’s friend. Virgil saw past his dramatic attitude and splendor personality, calling him out on his insecurities and bantered a lot with each other. Which is why he’d done his best to hide Virgil and his brother, sometimes sending his knights off on wild goose chases, or simply withholding information from his king and fellow guards. His brother and Virgil had always expressed their gratitude, of course.

Then it struck him.

“Virgil’s brother!”

He had forgotten that he left the older warlock to battle the rest of guards back at the castle. Roman knew that he most likely lost, even if he was a powerful dark warlock, he’d be outnumbered by the amount of light magic users, but he’d still be there. Most likely in the dungeons by now.

Returning to the castle, he walked past all the guards, knights, and servants that bowed to him or gave him curious glances. The curious looks most likely stemming from Roman’s disheveled clothes, and somewhat messy hair, which was most uncharacteristic for the famous flamboyant captain.

“Sir Roman!” 

Roman paused, a little annoyed that someone made him stop on his way to the dungeons, but forced a smile on when he saw that it was Joan, King Thomas’s royal advisor. It was a little unspoken rule that whoever would do harm or speak ill of Joan would answer to the king, so Roman had to control his emotions for now.

“Yes, Joan?” Roman asked, grinning widely.

Joan raised an eyebrow at the knight’s strange behavior, but decided against saying anything because they could tell Roman was in a rush. “Thomas wants a report about Deceit’s younger brother.”

 _His name is Virgil!_

“Ah… yes.” Roman wanted to scream. “Tell his majesty that I will report to him…” He glanced at the stairwell that led to the dungeons. “…After I confirm something with our slimy friend.” 

"Why? Did something happen?”

“Yes… And I will tell you after I talk to him!” He replied, quickly sprinting down into the damp dungeons.

“But…” 

Ignoring that, Roman took two steps at a time, until he finally arrived at the bottom. There were two guards stationed at the entrance, both flinched at the sight of the captain. “Give me the key to Deceit’s cell.” He commanded, before either one of them could say anything.

Surprised at the captain’s cold and commanding tone, the two guards looked at each other. “Captain Roman, while we respect you as our captain, we—”

“NOW.” Roman demanded, voice louder, glaring daggers at the two, holding out his hand.

The two gulped in fear, for they have never heard the usually nice and charming captain speak with such authority. Deciding that they value they lives, the guard on the left took out a silver key from his belt and handed it to Roman’s outstretched hand.

“Here, sir.”

“Thank you.”

Without looking back, Roman walked into the dark hallway that kept numerous criminals for petty crimes such as theft, forgery, misconduct and so on. The deeper you went, the more serious the crimes were. This hallway was darker, without windows, and the only source of light being the torches lined up against the walls. These cells held criminals charged with murder, arson, rape, treason, mutiny, and studying the dark arts.

Soon, Roman found himself at the very end of the hallway, staring at a figure behind bars, chained by his arms and legs to the wall, leaving the criminal in an uncomfortable kneeling position. Unlocking the cell, Roman quickly entered and closed the door behind him. Hearing the crunch of the hay beneath his feet, and feeling the suffocating darkness as he kneeled right in front of the dark warlock. 

Deceit slowly raised his head, his mismatching black and yellow eyes red, and his cheeks wet. “Roman…” Deceit whimpered. “Virgil?”

“Has escaped.” He whispered back, feeling nothing but pity for the poor man.

The warlock gasped, but a smile graced his lips. “Thank goodness… Thank goodness…” He sniffled, as a tear slipped out of his eye.

A weight lifted off of Roman’s shoulder, happy to see the caring older brother weep with joy. But frowned, upon remembering what he was really here for.

“Deceit… I saw Virgil escape through some kind of green vortex.” He explained, leaning down closer. “And I think he used a forbidden spell to do it. Do you have any idea what that could be?”

“Green vortex?” Deceit contemplated this with scrunched eyebrows. Until his eyes grew wide with panic and he gasped loudly. “Oh no… He couldn’t have… No, no, no, no, no! I told him not to ever cast that spell! He promised! He couldn’t… He wouldn’t…” He continued sputtering, moving around, causing his chains to jostle loudly. 

“Shhhh… shhh… it’s ok.” Roman said as he comfortingly rested his hands on Deceit’s shoulders and talked slowly. “Calm down… calm down...” He waited until the heterochromatic man breathed in and out a few times and was no longer squirming. “Good. Now what was that spell you told him to never cast?”

“A dimensional spell.”

“A dimensional spell?” Roman repeated.

“Yes! It allows the caster to travel to another dimension.” The knight was amazed. He had heard there were other worlds other than their own, but he didn’t know it was possible to actually travel between them. “However, it is a forbidden spell for a good reason.”

“And that is?”

"The spell is dangerous, because people have died casting that one cursed spell!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays to everyone! Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Excuse Me While I Laugh. Ha.

Patton: Hey Logan 😊 I’ll be coming home late tonight. The CEO of a really big company and his family are here, so don’t wait up on me. There’s some food left in the fridge, so don’t overwork yourself again, ok?

Logan gazed at the clock on his phone. It was already nine in the evening, Patton usually came back from work around eleven or so, but never past midnight. Judging by the sound of his text though, it sounded like he will be coming home by around midnight. 

_It’s not easy being a head chef at a five-star restaurant…_

Logan was about to sit down with his book in hand, when he noticed a gentle breeze flow into the room from the open window. He smiled. Opening his balcony doors, he gazed up in wonder at the stars that painted the dark sky. Shining and shimmering in all their glory, like little dots splashed onto a dark canvas. 

So many wonders, so many celestial bodies, and so much to uncover. Seeing beautiful stars like these were one of the reasons why he chose to become an astrochemist, and that he also wanted to help the environment, as to reduce light pollution.

One of the main reasons why he and Patton chose an apartment on the 44th floor was because Logan wanted a good view of the night sky. The beautiful view of the city below was just an added bonus. Sighing in content, Logan opened his book to where he left off from last time and began reading, leaning against the balcony railing, with one arm draped over it. The wind was getting stronger, and the pages on the book were fluttering, but nothing too distracting, so the astrochemist continued. Until he heard a distant crack of thunder and lightning. 

_That was odd…_

He looked up at the sky, and it remained the same as when he looked up at it two minutes ago. Clear sky, and full of stars. So where did that come from? 

_CRACK!_

There it was again. Turning around this time, Logan saw something in the distance. Sparks. Sparks like you were starting a firework. Cracking in mid-air. Adjusting his glasses, and squinting his eyes with furrowed brows, Logan continued staring, until the sparks erupted into a large swirling green whirlpool, accompanied by a sound of thunder, and something came out of that green whirlpool.

A blur of black, brown and purple.

A person.

A person in a witch’s outfit. Pointy hat and all. 

Flying on a broomstick!

Logan’s mouth opened ajar from the sheer shock, and he was left staring at the boy on the broom. He didn’t even notice his book fall from his hand and landed with a thud on the floor. And before he could even say anything, the boy in the witch’s outfit slowly opened his eyes, and Logan was left staring at the shining purple eyes of the admittedly cute boy with dark circles under his eyes.

Something warm grew in Logan’s chest, as he felt his face heat up.

Those purple eyes looked like stars.

“Woah noooooooo!” Before either of them could say anything though, the boy’s eyes closed and slowly drops to the side, and Logan luckily grabbed onto him just in time by the arms. Hauling up the mysterious boy up to his balcony, Logan was surprised to find that the boy in his arms was quite light. He tucked away that piece of information in the back of his head and decided to set the witch-boy down on his own bed, since it was closer. 

Gently placing him down, Logan opted to set the pointy hat on the nightstand and carefully remove the cape. If he hadn’t seen the boy fly out of that green swirly thing and float forty-four stories high, Logan would’ve thought the boy was just cosplaying. But how does one manage a situation like this?

He has a stranger in his house. A stranger with some kind of teleportation or flying ability. The cape, the hat, the broom, the flying, the suddenly appearing…Everything needed to identify a classic witch or even a wizard from Harry Potter. His logic was telling him that this wasn’t possible. Witches, wizards and magic don’t exist in real life.

Yet, here was a physical being that proved him otherwise.

This was too much. He needed a second opinion. Fishing out his phone from his pocket, he saw that it was only forty-five minutes past nine. He didn’t want to bother Patton when the man was still busy with work, but he needed his opinion. Logan was questioning his own logic.

After three rings, Patton answered.

‘Hey, Logan!’ Came the cheery greeting from the usual bubbly chef. ‘I’m a bit busy at the moment…’ He said as clattering could be heard in the background. ‘Did you receive my text?’

“I did.” Logan replied. “But this couldn’t wait.”

‘Why? Did something happen?’ Patton asked, concerned.

“Something…” He said as he glanced down at the peacefully sleeping figure. “...Highly illogical.”

….

“DIE?!” Roman yelled, face contorting in anger. 

“Roman, listen to me.” Deceit said, full of determination. “You have to check on Virgil.”

“Check on him how?” Roman asked, worry all over his face at the thought of his best friend dying at the hands of a forbidden spell. 

“Roman, I have to know if my brother survived going through the portal. Not knowing whether or not your only family is dea…” He paused, biting his lips as if unable to say the word. “…Alive or not, is torture! I wouldn’t be able to live with that uncertainty.” 

Roman felt Deceit’s sincerity and pain as he stared into the black and yellow eyes. His face was supposed to illicit fear into the hearts of many, the mismatching eyes and yellow snake scale on the side of his face suited his image and reputation. Yet, the once feared criminal was now a crying mess, literally begging on his knees to his supposed enemy, the captain of the royal guard for a favor. A favor that would definitely conflict Roman even more.

“I want to know if Virgil is ok to, but…” He faltered, clenching his fists. “I’m the captain of the royal guard! The kingdom trusts me, the KING trusts me. And if I do go after Virgil, won’t that mean I’m breaking my oath as a protector of this kingdom?”

Deceit smiled softly, almost smirking, a familiar mischievous glint in that yellow eye. “You’re a protector regardless of that uniform and some petty oath you made to the king. You protected Virgil and I from the king on more than one occasion and have even lied to the king… just to protect us. You sneaked food to the children of the slums, and remember that time when you were off-duty but you protected lady from her abusive husband? If that’s not being a protector, then I don’t know what is.”

The captain blushed at having all his secret deeds said out in the open. He was glad this cell was far away from the other prisoners. “No… I… That wasn’t…I didn’t—I didn’t mean to…"

The warlock chuckled. “Lying is my territory, Roman. Now, are you going to help or what?”

Sighing in defeat, Roman conceded. “Fine. I’ll admit that I want to know if he’s ok too. Is there some kind of spell that lets me check into the world he travelled to?”

The older warlock shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”

“Then… do I have to cast the dimensional spell?”

Deceit nodded. “I would help you if I could, but these nullification chains are a pest.” He spat bitterly as he tugged at the chains on his wrist and legs. “Plus, if anyone tampered with them, it would alert the High Council and your position would be at risk. I’m sorry, Roman. I know I’m asking a lot from you.” He said, remorse all over his face.

“It’s ok, Deceit.” He responded, giving the criminal a reassuring smile. “I’m doing this because I want to, and because I know it’s the right thing to do… even if it’s wrong in the eyes of others.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” He added.

“Tell me the spell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any mistakes and the late post! Hope you're enjoying it and thank you everyone for the kudos and comments! :) Also, sorry for the short chapter, but more and longer chapters are to come, I promise! Thank you again!
> 
> I know Patton was a cop in iraem's story, but don't worry, that's still a part of the story.


	4. I Have No Idea Where You're Going With This, But I Blindly Support You-Where'd You Go?

Tapping his foot impatiently, Logan continued staring at the sleeping boy. He wanted answers so bad! He could theorize and come up with hypotheses all he wanted, but he knew that the witch boy had all the answers he was looking for. Where did he come from? What was the green swirly thingy? How was he able to fly? Is he a magical being from another plane of existence that he doesn’t know about?

“I’m here! Logan?” Patton’s voice rang out from their living room, as he heard the door slam open.

“In here, Patton!” Logan called out from his room where he and the sleeping figure were. 

Hurried footsteps thudded across the floor until Patton threw open the door, smacking it against the wall, sweat all over his face from rushing over. “Where’s the fi—”

“Shhh!” Logan hushed his friend with his index finger to his lips. “You might wake him.” He said as he gestured to the stranger on his bed.

“Sorry.” Patton stared quizzically at the boy cladded in purple and black. “Uh, who is this fella?”

Logan shrugged. “Would you believe me if I told you he manifested himself right outside our balcony flying on an old-fashioned broomstick with an uncomfortable and inconvenient pointed black hat like a classic witch from those fairy tales you love so much?” He said without so much as batting an eyelash.

At once, Patton’s eyes lit up as he took in that information. “You mean he’s a real life wiza—”

“ _That_ we can’t know for sure until he wakes up.” Logan said as he sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. “I apologize for cutting your work early, Patton but…Honestly though, seeing something like… that, something that is beyond human capabilities has my mind boggled. It’s crushing my reality!” 

Patton nodded in understanding. He knew Logical Logan would only get like this if something extraordinary happened, so it made sense for him to want Patton here for support. “Why is he sleeping on your bed though? You usually don’t let people you don’t know into your bed. Quite the scandal I must say, Logan.”

“He fainted just as he materialized right in front of me.” He explained, deciding to leave out the part where they stared into each other’s eyes for quite some time. “Thankfully, I caught him just in time before he could fall to his inevitable death. And he is on my bed, in my room because it was closer than the couch.”

“Are those _your_ clothes he’s wearing?” Patton added quickly.

Now this was what made Logan blush a soft pink on his cheeks. “Correction! They’re not just my clothes, Patton. The sweater is mine, but the pajama pants are yours. It’s… because his clothes were filthy and I, of course, would not let filthy clothes onto my bed. They’re in the wash right now.”

“Is that his wizard hat and wizard cape?!” Patton questioned enthusiastically as he spotted a pointy hat and long dark and purple cape hanging on the clothes rack to dry out on their balcony.

“Yes…” Logan answered, adjusting his glasses. “They were filthy, and I obviously would not let a stranger’s—or anyone’s clothing for that matter into my room, let alone my bed.”

“Speaking of clothing, are those _my_ pants he’s wearing? Oh my gosh! He looks so cute in them!” 

“Yes, according to an article by Stacey Laura Lloyd on what you should and shouldn’t wear to bed, cotton is a natural fiber that's extremely soft, comfy, and lightweight, making it an ideal choice for a good night's sleep. Further, cotton also enables your skin to breathe and is less likely to cause rashes or irritations. 

Also, when you wear constricting clothing to bed, such as pants with an elastic waistband or a binding type of shirt, you're negatively impacting your circulation as well as hampering your ability to breathe normally throughout the night. Speaking of breathing, it's your skin that also needs to breathe, and wearing taut and tight items each night can lead to skin irritations and even infections.”

Patton rolled his eyes at Logan’s lengthy and wordy explanation on simple pajama pants and the importance of what you wear to sleep, but smiled at how Logan put so much thought and care into making sure a stranger was comfortable.

Which was strange enough in itself since Logan was known to be not very sociable to the point he was known as a snob to some of his colleagues and students. Nevertheless, Logan’s intellect, money and certificates were nothing compared to how he was known as the rich, smart, snobby but really really REALLY HOT astrochemist professor.

 _This little guy must’ve been or done something to make Logan do something out of character,_ Patton thought. 

“Ya sure about that, kiddo?” Patton teased with a playful wink.

“I am quite sure, and again, we’re the same age, Patton.” Logan stated, deadpanned. “Additionally, while our couch is at a satisfactory level of comfortability, the bed in my room is at a much—”

“Ok, ok, I get it.” He laughed. “Despite the circumstances, I guess we can say… sofa so good!”

“Did you just—"

…

Roman walked back up the flight of stairs and into the courtyard, a weight in his chest and in his pocket, his conversation with Deceit replaying in his head over and over. For a good reason though. He needed to remember the words for the spell, plus he needed to go back to the cliffside where Virgil first took off. 

Deceit had been against the idea of him casting the spell in a not so secluded area, but Roman pointed out that if there was bigger chance of getting to where Virgil went, then it was worth it. Apparently though, there was another way to ensure that Roman would get to Virgil. And it was currently sitting in his pocket.

“Captain Roman?”

Slightly flinching, with his hand just above the hilt of his sword, Roman was ready to attack the person that dared try to surprise the captain of the royal guard, but relaxed when he saw that it was just the royal chef, Terrance. He too, was one of the king's closest companions, so the same unspoken rules applied to him. 

“Ah, Terrance… what can I do for you?” Roman asked politely.

“Well, Joan said you’ve been acting kind of weird ever since Deceit’s capture.” Terrance said as he crossed his arms.

“Uhhh… I…”

“Then, people have been saying that you ran all the way to the dungeons looking all frazzled.” He added, at which a concerned expression was on his face. “Is everything ok? Because you can talk to me, or Valerie, or… heck even Thomas since he’s—”

“NO!” He snapped. As soon as he realized this, his hand flew to his mouth and surprise covered Terrance’s face. “I mean… uh, I am perfectly fine and do not need consultation with anyone whatsoever.” He finished an obvious forced smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to report to our king.”

_I’m sorry, Terrance, but I can’t involve you in this._

Turning away from his friend, Roman marched to the throne room, praying to whatever being was up there that he would not encounter Valerie or any member of the High Council. Valerie was the High Priestess of the Council, the most powerful light arts user in all of the kingdom. While Roman knew she’s sweet, he also knew that she’d know what was in his pocket if he ran into her, and he couldn’t risk that. 

Little did Roman know, someone else was watching the exchange. That someone knew was something up. They knew the captain was hiding something, something deeper than just an evil warlock and the younger brother that escaped capture. That was another thing that seemed suspicious. 

Captain Roman seemed too nonchalant or rather—for lack of a better term—not as happy as they thought he’d be about the most hated criminal’s capture. In fact, they could almost say that Roman was upset. Why would the captain be upset though? Shouldn’t he be glad that they finally captured the elusive criminal? Sure, the brother got away, but Roman was always the type to look on the brighter side of things.

And another thing. Why did Roman look so frazzled after heading down into the dungeons? They heard from the two guards on duty that the captain demanded the key to Deceit’s cell. Maybe he demanded clues as to where the younger warlock could have run off to, and maybe Deceit wasn’t being so cooperative.

_Maybe. Maybe…_

So many maybes… So many what ifs. Just what exactly was the truth? 

Confronting Roman himself would get all the answers they need. Now was obviously not the right time, since causing a scene in the courtyard was unnecessary and would stir up trouble neither of them would want right now. Consulting with any member of the royal court would be useless since they would all just brush off their suspicions as Roman just being his dramatic self. 

They’ll have to wait until Roman would be alone.

…

The forest was dark. So very very very dark. Yet he could still see purple hues on some of the trees, as Virgil ran through the forest, his hat and cape gone. What scared him more though, was the fact that the knights, including Roman were on his tail. It wasn’t just them though. Thomas, Valerie, the High Council and the enemies they’d made were all chasing him. 

‘Brother!’ Virgil screamed, his voice bouncing off the trees. ‘Where are you?!’ 

Nothing. And the kingdom was gaining on him. He was alone. His brother was gone. He had no one. No one at all. Tears streamed down his cheeks, as green clouds of thunder and lightning suddenly appeared above the forest. The thunder roared in Virgil’s ears, the flashes of lightning so bright that he needed to cover his ears and shut his eyes once more. 

‘Come back here you evil warlock!’ Valerie screeched.

‘Don’t think you’ll escape execution!’ Thomas bellowed as his horse was gaining speed.

‘Come now, dark wizard!’ Roman hollered. ‘This would be easier for the both of us if you just give up!’

He didn’t want to give up. He wanted to live. To have his freedom. To live freely with his brother, away from the kingdom, away from people that would judge them. Away from their enemies. Away from the pain. Away from all the pain and always having to run away. All he and his brother wanted was to live in a place without the fear and worry of being persecuted.

Would such a paradise ever exist though?

_It’s ok…_

Taking a risk, Virgil opened his eyes, and through his blurry vision, he saw the familiar cliffside. The storm didn’t reach the cliff. Like it was not allowed beyond that point. Confused, Virgil continued running.

_It’s going to be ok…_

He didn’t know who that voice belonged to, it was not his brother’s, that’s for sure, yet the soft tone was so comforting that it had Virgil running faster towards the cliff, where the consoling voice was louder and… felt stronger. 

_Shhh… It’s ok._

Virgil sniffed, wiping away the tears with his sleeve, a sob escaped his lips as the jeers of his enemies were so close. Mustering up all his remaining power and energy, he leaped from the cliff, seeing nothing but darkness below. Yet he found that he was ok with that. The comforting voice was there. He felt weightless, time slowed down, and he actually felt… _free._

‘Virgil… you left me.’ 

Turning his head back to the cliff, Virgil’s stomach’s drop, and his heart ripped from him, when he saw his brother, tied by blue chains, tears staining his brother’s scaly left cheek, a mix of sadness and betrayal in his mismatched eyes, as his enemies surrounded him. And with the swords in their hands, they slowly raised it above them, a look of triumph all on their faces.

And before he could see their swords strike Deceit, Virgil had fallen down into the dark pits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late post again! I've decided I will update on Saturdays instead since my Friday plans keep getting interrupted. The twelve chapters thing is only an estimate of how many chapters this story will have. There could be more, as I've already outlined the main plot of the story, but just not sure how long it will take before I reach the end. But anyways, thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed! Feed back and comments are much appreciated!


	5. I... Literally Can't Think Of Anything Bitter Or Cynical To Remark

Virgil awoke in a stranger's arms, a scream strangling him. He tried controlling his sobs, as he tried getting his bearings again, almost panicking because he was being touched by someone he didn’t know, until he heard the stranger’s voice.

“Shh… It’s going to be ok.” The man said, and Virgil realized that _this_ stranger was the comforting voice he had heard in his dream. 

The man rubbed small circles on his back as he continued whispering gentle words. Virgil liked how the man smelled like blueberries. He could feel his tear-stained cheeks, and feel the wet shirt of the stranger, indicating Virgil had been crying for some time now, and the man did not mind at all that his shirt was now wet.

“I… I’m sorry…” Virgil tried apologizing, feeling like a burden when the blueberry-scented man was being so nice to him, instinctively gripping the hem of the man’s shirt, like he did so many times when his brother had to comfort him after a nightmare.

“It’s ok.” The man quickly replied. “You’re going to be ok. Follow my lead… breathe in for four seconds…” Virgil obeyed, a bit reluctant. “Hold it for seven seconds. Now out for eight.” Virgil did as he was told, feeling a little better, but still jittery. “Good. You’re doing great.”

The man had Virgil do it a few more times when Virgil suddenly felt tired again, but not out of sheer exhaustion like when he nearly fell off his broom, but because he felt like he could finally get a goodnight’s rest and forget about his worries, even just for a little bit. He didn’t know this man that was so kind to help a stranger like him, but if he was willing to go this far for a poor unfortunate soul like him, then Virgil guessed he could trust this blueberry man.

Slowly, he felt himself drift off into sleep, the soft light of the room and the warm arms around him fading.

…

Virgil felt rays of sunlight coming from the window invade his vision. Groaning, he took the surprisingly soft blue blanket and—wait… his blanket wasn’t blue. Quickly sitting up, he surveyed his surroundings. Cream white walls, black shelves filled with books, another shelf but had numerous trophies and awards on it, an entire wall decorated with signed papers and certificates, a black desk with a matching black chair was tucked between the shelves, a few colored pictures were hung on the opposite wall to the wall of awards, and finally a large window with its dark blue curtains drawn. 

He looked down at his body and knew that he wasn’t wearing his normal clothes. Gone were his black and purple clothes covered in grime. Now he wore a simple black sweater with a dark blue trim and sky-blue oversized cotton pants. In other words, the most comfortable clothes he had ever been in.

“Where… am I?” Virgil wondered to himself. “Ah!” He exclaimed as he felt like his head had been hit by a hammer. 

Memories came flooding into his head one after the other. His kidnapping, his brother’s command for him to flee, reciting the forbidden dimensional spell, thunder and lightning all around him, the night air, the beautiful stranger, his nightmare, and then the comforting voice.

It was then Virgil, the dark warlock, realized that he survived casting a forbidden spell and was now in another dimension. 

The realization was like being hit by the force of a giant crate, it sent Virgil reeling back into the bed, laying down on his back, running his hand through his face and hair. He survived. He actually did it. His brother had always told him that he was more powerful than he thought, but he didn’t think his power reached this far. 

It took him a few minutes for all this to sink in, and for another onset of anxiety for Virgil. Now that he’s actually here, where exactly is here? He could tell he was in someone’s bedroom, but was it the beautiful stranger’s bedroom? How was he supposed to explain his situation to him? 

_Hello! I ran away from my home and only family because I’m a dark warlock and related to a criminal. Also, I’m from another dimension. I think you’re really beautiful and I’m not good with talking to beautiful people!_

Just hearing that in his head was making him cringe. 

Where was he going to stay? He couldn’t possibly impose on the stranger. What about food? Money? Clothes? Would the stranger even believe him? He could just leave without saying a word, to save himself from explaining everything to his savior. That would be rude though. After everything he’s done for him, he should at least personally thank his beautiful savior. 

Assuming the beautiful stranger _was_ his savior.

Two knocks on the door in front of him grabbed Virgil’s attention and away from his thoughts. There, two men stood. 

One of them had strawberry blonde hair, baby blue eyes, black framed glasses, a matching baby blue shirt, jeans, and a gray jacket tied around his shoulders. This man probably had the brightest and friendliest expression he had ever seen, as he was carrying a plate of freshly-baked cookies. 

“We’re so glad you’re awake!” The smiling man in baby blue said. “We made chocolate chip cookies for you! And some almond milk! Logan says it’s good for those that just woke up after fainting.” 

That was when Virgil’s gaze landed on the man behind him, and he felt himself stiffen, and became acutely aware of his warm and beating heart. There was the handsome man he had seen the other night. 

Of course, he looked just as dashing as when Virgil first laid his eyes on him. With slicked back brown hair, also wearing black-framed glasses, black dress shirt, dark blue tie and black slacks. This man had a more scholarly vibe as opposed to the other man who had a warm and father-like air.

“We hoped you weren’t lactose intolerant.” Logan stated, adjusting his glasses as he held the glass of milk in one hand. “But if you happened to be, we also have ginger and peppermint tea.” Virgil just stared at the two, unsure of what to say. “Are you lactose intolerant? Do you know what lactose intolerant means?”

“I… I do!” Virgil sputtered, and mentally smacked himself for stuttering. “I-I’m sorry for stuttering… I just don’t…”

“Hey, it’s ok, kiddo.” The friendly man said, setting the plate of cookies down on the bedside table and sitting next to Virgil on the bed. It was then Virgil realized the man himself smelled like chocolate chip cookies. “We just want to help. We can take this slow. We won’t pressure you to do or say anything you don’t want to say, m’kay?”

The young warlock’s eyes fleeted between the man in front of him and the man still standing by the doorway. He just met these two, but they seem nice, and they’re his only chance at understanding and surviving this new and unfamiliar world. Glob, he really hoped these two weren’t bad people. 

“O…kay.” Virgil meekly replied.

“Awww, he’s adorable! Logan, can we keep him?”

“Patton, he is a living, breathing and intelligent life form.” Logan shot back coldly, setting the glass next to the plate of cookies. “He is not a pet.”

At this, Patton pouted. “You know what I mean!”

“Anyways…” Logan said, as he adjusted his glasses and stared at the boy in his bed, still wrapped in his blankets. The intelligent man was aware the boy was staring at him with a rather flustered expression, with those shining purple eyes of his. He tried to ignore how it made his heart throb without explanation or prompt. “While I agree that your recovery is important, and we won’t badger you to explain what the heck I saw last night just yet…” He took note of how the purple boy gulped at that. “May we at least know your name?”

“Oh!” The boy said, as if surprised. “Um… I-Uh…”

Virgil never told his name, unless it was someone he trusted. In fact, only his brother and Roman knew his name for the longest time. Even then, it took some months before he finally felt like he could tell Roman his name. It wasn’t until he was kidnapped, that the royal court learned of his name, and his connection to Deceit, the most wanted criminal in the land. 

_“Names are powerful.” His brother’s words echoed in his head. “Which is why you should only tell it to those you trust.”_

_“Is that why you always call me ‘storm cloud,’ whenever we’re out?”_

_“Precisely. Names are especially powerful if you use it in spells. So, be careful if anyone asks for your name, ok storm cloud?”_

He had already broken one promise with his brother, he didn’t want to break another. Plus, he still needed to know if he could fully trust these two. They may seem nice now, but they might not be after knowing who Virgil really was. He had been tricked enough times.

“Logan, we said we wouldn’t pressure—”

“It’s V.” The warlock interjected. “Just… call me V.”

“Like… the letter ‘V’ or do you spell it in a certain way?” Patton asked.

Virgil somewhat relaxed upon learning that at least the alphabet was the same in this dimension. “The letter.”

“Very well then.” Logan said. “First things first. How do you feel, V?”

_Confused. Afraid. Sad. Upset. Anxious. Betrayed. Angry. I want to go back. I have to go back. But I can’t go back. I can’t go back to my own world. I want to go back for my brother. He told me to run and not look back. I can’t go back! They’ll kill me for sure!_

“Better… I think.” The two men glanced at each other worriedly. “I mean, I’m definitely better! I woke up with a little headache, but it went away after I lied down for a bit.”

The two visibly relaxed at this, Patton’s smile growing wider. “That’s good to hear kiddo.”

“Ah!” Logan suddenly exclaimed, as if remembering something he forgot. “Introductions! Where are our manners? I’m Logan, professor at Sanders University and currently working on my masters in astrochemistry.”

_Sanders University?_

“And I’m your old pal Patton!” Patton merrily introduced himself, his cheeks puffing and blushing adorably. “Head chef at Hart’s Restaurant! Because nothing tastes better, than food from the heart!” 

Virgil looked visibly confused at the statement, to which Logan leaned in. “He’s just reciting his restaurant’s slogan. He does that whenever he introduces it.”

“Hey, Logan! Up top!” Patton said as he raised his hand.

“I don’t…” Logan said as he unwittingly raised his hand.

“Down low!” Patton quickly said.

“But I…”

“Gan!”

“Low… gan.” Logan said as he slowly processed that. “Logan. Oh my gosh, Patton.” He said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Gosh, Logan. You say that all the time I guess you could say that’s your slogan now?”

“What are you—”

“I guess it’s… Logan’s slogan?!” 

The bespectacled man in black sighed, turning to their stranger who finally got the fact that Patton was making bad puns and jokes. “He does this a lot?”

“You get used to it.” Logan bluntly responded, having bore with Patton’s jokes since their first year of high school together. “Anyways, as promised, we won’t badger you for answers right now, so I would highly recommend that you drink some milk, and eat.”

“We knew you’d be hungry, so aside from the cookies, I didn’t know what you would like, so I cooked a lot!” Patton added, his eyes brightening up at the mention of eating. “I made chicken with roasted kale, pasta primavera, grilled romaine salad—mainly because Logan said it was the healthier option—beef shawarma with pita, Mushroom-Caraway soup, Pad Thai, blueberry muffins, and—”

“OH MY GOSH!” Virgil suddenly yelled, panic all over his face, as his hands flew to his hair.

“What?! You don’t like blueberry muffins?” Patton asked, distressed.

“No! I mean…” He glanced at Logan. “I love blueberry muffins! I love… all things blueberry!” He added with an awkward laugh, peeping at Logan once more, who still had his harms folded across his chest with a stoic expression, yet was looking intently at Virgil. “It’s just… I was wondering where my hat is?”

Patton leaned back, as his mouth formed an ‘o.’ 

Logan stepped closer and sat next to Virgil on the bed, now the warlock was between two strangers, and the familiar blueberry scent invaded his nose. He tried not to let his anxiety show at the thought of being wedged between two people he barely knew. 

“Your hat and cape were highly unsanitary. It’s like they haven’t been washed in weeks.” Logan pointed out bluntly. He wasn’t wrong though. With the kingdom on his and his brother’s tail, they haven’t had the time to do any laundry. Not like he was going to say that. “They’re currently in the living room, neatly folded, and most importantly, _clean_.”

“Oh… Uh… Thank you…” This was too much kindness in such a short amount of time for Virgil, something he was not used to at all.

“You’re welcome!” Logan and Patton said simultaneously.

“Now, let’s go eat before the food gets cold!” Patton added, as he stood up. Logan following him.

“Ah, Logan!” Virgil called out, as the two made it to the doorway. 

“Yes?” 

“Um…” A new sense of embarrassment and shyness overcame Virgil, yet he knew he had to say it now or forever let it be in the back of his head. “Thank you… for last night. For saving me and also for when… you know, I had a nightmare.”

_And sorry too, for probably grossing you out by getting tears and snot all over your shirt._

Logan adjusted his glasses for what seemed like the umpteenth time, this time looking away from Virgil. “You are mistaken, V. It was not me who comforted you from your night terror last night, for I have never been good with dealing with emotions, let alone consoling someone. That was Patton last night.”

“It was?” Virgil asked with suspicion in his eyes.

“It was?” Patton repeated, confused, before Logan glared at him with the message. “I mean… It was! Yeah!”

Yeah… Virgil was not buying it one bit. He spent his entire life with a master liar, he knew a lie when he spotted one. Aside from that, he knew it couldn’t have been Patton because the person that was with him smelled like blueberries, and now that he thought about it, he smelled a bit of loganberries as well. Heh… Logan smells like loganberries. 

Other than that, Patton smelled like he came fresh out of a bakery. And when he touched Virgil, his callous hand, while warm and comforting, was very different from the smooth and soft hands that held him the other night.

Wow, he couldn’t believe he was able to retain and gather all that. Being paranoid of everything really had its perks. It made you hyperaware of everything and everyone. But it’s not like he was going to push it. Logan obviously did not want the credit for the good deed, most likely embarrassed from doing something that was out of character for him, which was something Virgil sympathized with. Still, he owed these two an explanation. He’d have to try to explain things without giving away too much while they eat. It was the right thing to do. 

“Hm, ok. Well, I wouldn’t want Patton’s food to go to waste.” Virgil said as he slowly stood up and finally got a good look of the view from the bedroom window. Tall buildings ranging in different shapes and sizes that seemed to be made entirely out of metal, and some in colorful cement were spread out throughout a vast expanse of land and even more buildings. But that’s not what concerned Virgil the most. Judging by the shadows of the buildings and the position of the sun, Virgil guessed it was past noon by now, which raised another question. “Uh, how long… have I been out?”

“Almost three days.” Logan answered. 

…

After getting over the initial shock of being out cold for almost a solid three days, Virgil explained as much as he could about where he came from and how he got here without adding any of the details that would most likely scare his saviors. It was a bit hard to do, given how he was distracted by eating probably the best food he had ever tasted in forever. He had always wanted to taste the royal chef Terrance’s food, but never had the chance due to obvious reasons, but eating these kinds of food made Virgil feel like he was eating at a royal banquet. 

Logan had a lot of questions, which was a surprise to no one. He had questioned the fundamentals of spells, magic, the class system, the monarchy and they event got to the point to where they started discussing alchemy. Now Virgil was kind of glad he stayed up so many late nights to read his history and spell books.

Patton had a few questions himself, but he was more curious about the creatures of his world such as elves, wolves, vampires, fairies and so on.

“Does their fairy dust really help you fly like in Peter Pan?” Patton asked enthusiastically. 

“I don’t know who Peter Pan is, but the fairies wouldn’t give you any of their dust unless you have some kind of relationship with them, or you made a pact with one of them—which is a danger in itself.”

“What about the vampires and wolves you mentioned?” Logan added, munching on his blueberry muffin. 

“Well, they used to look down on us, and even were at war with each other for some centuries, but after our king rose to the throne, he and all the other kingdoms have come to a peace treaty.”

He continued to explain how King Thomas was around his age, but became king when he was twenty, and had to bear the responsibilities of a leader at such a tender age. Thankfully, Thomas proved to be a good ruler, prioritizing peace and equality for all, regardless of gender or race. However, Thomas’ perspectives at times clashed with the traditional and old-fashioned beliefs of many in the land, which was why Virgil, his brother, and many others, were still treated as scoundrels, despite the king’s efforts and new laws.

“Fascinating.” Logan mumbled, a look of wonder in his eyes. 

Virgil couldn’t help but smile at that. Also, he was glad that he was able to explain everything to them without rambling nonsense and without adding any of the concerning tidbits of his life and kingdom. He’ll save those for when he knows he can trust these two for sure.

That reminded him.

“Um, if I may ask a question of my own?” 

“Of course, V!” Patton said. “And drop the formalities. You don’t need to act that way in front of us.”

“Well, I’ve been wondering… with all your questions and all… does this world—” It was hard to say it. “—Have no magic?”

The two men shared a look, conversing with their eyes once again. Virgil felt a pang of nostalgia as he watched this. It reminded him of when he and Deceit would do the same, whether it be casting a spell, or one of their schemes. 

“Yes, V.” Logan replied, trying hard not to sound cold about it. “In this dimension, ‘magic’ is often referred to tricks and contraptions mainly designed to entertain an audience with a feat that would normally be impossible to do. Other times, it is used to make children behave or have something to look forward to, such as mythical deities and figures known as Santa Clause, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny etc.”

“Yeah, I… don’t know who those people are.” Virgil confessed.

“Don’t tell me holidays like Christmas and Halloween don’t exist in your world?” Patton asked, a mix of pity and worry on his face.

“We have holidays, but I could never really afford to celebrate it.”

“Why?” Patton said.

Shit. He shouldn’t have said that. The truth was Deceit always tried to celebrate their holidays in their own small ways, but they could never have a full-blown celebration and actually enjoy the holiday, because they had to worry about being recognized and the royal guards breathing down their necks. Instead, they got whatever they could find as a gift for each other, and would even cook something big enough just for the two of them that was apropos for the holiday.

“My brother and I were very poor. So, we only managed some food and small gifts for each other.” He explained, letting some of his sadness and nostalgia seep into his words.

Patton wasn’t sure whether to pout or smile reassuringly for the boy that had obviously been through more than they could ever imagine. It made him want to protect the precious boy even more. However, Logan noticed something in the way V said that.

“Were?” Logan pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

At this, Virgil stopped playing with his fork, and panic was slowly rising within Patton. He wanted to scold Logan, but V spoke before he could.

It ached him to say it, but with everything that happened, the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. “It’s just me now.”

Uncomfortable silence engulfed the whole dining room, the only sound being heard was the distant ticking of the wall clock. V continued to stare at his finished plate of pasta with an empty smile, no longer playing with his fork. Patton glared at Logan for opening up such a sensitive topic, to which the scholar was finally realizing.

“V, I…” Logan wasn’t sure how to mend this. He wanted to slap himself for being an insensitive prick on the one person aside from Patton he genuinely wanted to get to know better. All his life, he’s met with people that only wanted to meet with him and use him for his status as a good-looking rich astrochemist. It made him close-off his heart to others. Added to that, was the fact that he was terrible at socializing and handling emotions and feelings. “I’m sorry—”

“I should leave soon.” V declared, finally looking up at them both, the same sad smile on his face. “I don’t want to keep imposing on you two.”

“Posing? Posing as what?” Patton misheard.

 _“Imposing,_ Patton.” Logan cleared up. “It means to exploit or take advantage of someone by demanding their attention and commitment.”

Patton gasped, quickly turning to their guest. “V, you are in no way imposing on us! We _chose_ to help you. Logan _chose_ to help you by not letting you fall forty-four stories high.”

“Wait, what?”

“You… didn’t have to tell him that.” Logan said with a frustrated sigh.

“Oh... sorry. My point is, I chose to cook all—” He gestured to their glass table that was once filled with food and was no covered with half-eaten food and a few empty plates. “—of _this,_ because I knew you’d be hungry from being asleep for three days.”

Virgil’s smile actually widened, only a small trace of sadness left. “And I’m very thankful for the kindness you’ve shown me. Really. It’s… the most kindness I’ve experienced in a long time.” Patton’s heart welled up at the comment, and Logan wondered just what the hell did the young boy go through. “And the last thing I want to do is freeload off of you two.”

Patton wanted to argue more and convince the strange dark boy even more, until Logan intervened. “Interesting… tell me, V. Do you still have your magic?”

“Logan!”

Actually, Virgil didn’t notice it until now, but the spark and pulsating energy he usually felt within him was barely there. He was so shocked that he had actually traveled to another world, that he didn’t bother checking if he retained his magic.

Bringing his right hand up, he closely examined his calloused fingers and tiny scars that he got from years of running away, gathering materials for spells and doing numerous part-time jobs. Logan and Patton were debating in the background, but Virgil was too focused on his magic to listen.

He tried one of the simplest spells he learned as a child. Controlling water. He was told that spellcasters usually have one element that they master easily because it matches their personality. Even if they manage to master more than four elements, there will always be one element a magic user is strongest with. He remembered Roman saying once that the reason water was Virgil’s element was because he was so ‘deep and mysterious.’

Focusing on the glass of water in front of him, Virgil tried to feel the familiar energy that came with manipulating water. Alas, the only thing he managed to do was make the water rise up to the rim, before Virgil had to stop, bringing his hand back down to his side, feeling like he was straining his hand.

_My magic has tremendously weakened. But it’s still there. I can feel it._

There was another spell he could try. It was one of the first spells that he learned, and it was the primary reason why his brother gave him the nickname ‘Storm cloud.’ Bringing up his left hand this time, pictured the clouds he wanted. He remembered the storm in his nightmare, he felt the thunder and lightning shake his core, he remembered the hot streak of lightning that felt too close for comfort. 

“Come on…” He muttered under his breath. “Come on...!”

Much to his disappointment however, the only thing that came out of his hand were tiny little purple sparks that quickly faded.

Virgil let his left-hand limp at his side. 

He had heard of this before. When a magic-user casts a powerful or rather dangerous spell, their magic becomes weak, almost to the point they’re not even able to cast any easy spells. Some have even become disabled from it, or lose their magic entirely. In the back of his head though, a nagging voice was telling him: you’re losing your magic because you’re adapting to this world. A world without magic.

As much as he didn’t want to listen to it, he knew that was a possibility. But would he actually survive without magic?

“V?” Patton’s worried tone snapped the warlock out of his thoughts. It was then he noticed the two stopped fighting and were both looking at him with deep concern. “Are you ok?”

_No, I’m losing everything. I lost my brother, I lost my only friend, I lost my home, my kingdom, my world, and I’m even losing my magic. And now I think I’m losing even more of my sanity!_

“Yeah… I’m ok.” He so obviously lied with a grim expression. Figuring he was not fooling anyone anymore, he might as well come out. “Just that… my magic is very weak. I won’t be able to go back or even visit my old home.”

How he wished he could just spill everything to them. That he didn’t have a home. That he didn’t belong there, here, or _anywhere_ for that matter. He never felt even more alone.

“Then you’re staying here.” Patton countered firmly.

“Patton, I told you—” Virgil wanted to argue, but Logan cut in again.

“Patton is right, V.” Logan interrupted. “Not only are you a foreigner from not just another country, but from another _dimension_. You have no knowledge on our culture, or how this world operates. Letting you go out there would be like plucking a fish out of water and expecting it to survive on land. Not only that, You are obviously in no condition to be pulling any big stunts or performing any extraneous tasks. We won’t stop you if your desire is to go back to your dimension.” Was Virgil imagining things, or did he hear a tinge of sadness when Logan said that? “But the matter of fact is… until you are well rested and have fully replenished your energy, you’re staying here with us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Virgil being called 'V' is from the fact that Virgil called Logan, 'L' in the puppet video. Hope you enjoyed this long chapter! ^-^


	6. I Am Bitterly, Jittery, And Not Very Glittery

The night was cold, as fog surrounded the streets, the cold and crisp air would be enough to send anyone home, wanting nothing more than the comforts of their own home and a warm blanket. However, everyone had long gone to sleep, all the lights in every house gone, and all that could be heard were the distant crickets.

Roman double-checked his belongings one last time before he left his house, patting down his pockets and belt. Satisfied that everything he needed was with him, he slowly opened his front door, surveying his surroundings to make sure there was nobody around. Even though he knew it was way past midnight, he needed to be extra careful. Despite the dark brown cloak that covered him, and would surely conceal his face, he couldn’t risk anyone recognizing him or see him sneaking off in the middle of the night.

Once he was sure that there was no one around, he quickly locked his door and scurried out into the street, heading towards the forest. Shivering under cold night air, he rubbed his hands together, as he went over the spell in his head again, until he reached the cliffside where he last saw Virgil.

He let out a sigh of relief, his anxious thoughts of being spotted slowly disappearing. 

Taking out the purple pouch from his pocket, he brought out the dark brown lock of hair with purple highlights tied securely with a rubber band. 

Grazing his hand over Virgil’s hair, he recalled his last conversation with Deceit.

_“I should tell you that there’s no guarantee that you’ll end up in the same dimension as Virgil.” Deceit admitted._

_“What?! Then how am I supposed to—”_

_“Let me finish. There’s no guarantee… but there is a way on to pinpoint his location at least.”_

_“And that is?” Roman asked with a raised eyebrow. ___

____

_“In my pocket, I have a pouch containing a lock of Virgil’s hair.” He said as he looked down to his left pocket._

_“You… just carry that around with you?” Roman asked with a quizzical gaze._

_“I know it’s a risqué choice, but I knew should I ever get caught, I would destroy it before they got to me so that they wouldn’t be able to trace Virgil. Of course, with how things went, they managed to trace Virgil without even knowing about the lock of hair.”_

_“So, are you saying I can find Virgil using his hair?” ___

____

_“Don’t sound so skeptical, Roman. I think we both know the tracking spell. Heck, even dogs and cats don’t need magic since they use their sense of smell to track down people.”_

_The tracking spell was something mostly used by the guards to help find elusive criminals or missing persons, but as of late, it’s mostly been used for slippery thieves. However, in order for the spell to work, the caster would need any item that had the thief’s gene in them, like a strand of hair, a fingernail or even a ripped piece of fabric that was part of one of their clothes._

_“Well… if you say so.” Roman said as he inched closer to get the pouch from the criminal’s pocket. “Are you really sure you’re willing to part with it?”_

_Deceit stared at the purple pouch with melancholic eyes. “What matters most… is that the real Virgil is safe. Please, Roman.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but held back for fear of spilling more tears._

Roman felt his heart weigh heavily in his chest. He knew his worries were nothing compared to the older brother, yet he couldn’t help but feel bad for both. 

Just as he was about to cast the spell, he heard a twig snap a couple of feet away from him.

“Who goes there?” Roman demanded as he took out his sword.

A few seconds passed by with no response, and the captain was beginning to walk towards the sound, when he saw a small figure covered in a dark green cloak. “Talyn?!”

The brightly colored curly hair, wide-framed glasses and eccentric clothing were recognizable even from afar. Talyn, the royal tailor of King Thomas and the partner of the king’s royal advisor, Joan. 

“Captain Roman.” Talyn greeted mockingly, an unamused expression on their face.

“What are you doing here?” Roman asked.

“I could ask you the same thing!” They spat back bitterly. “Not only are you worrying us by having some kind of secret conversation with Deceit, but now you’re sneaking off in the middle of the night to some random cliffside in the forest!”

Roman’s sour face grew remorseful as he listened to Talyn’s rant. He didn’t know that he was worrying his closest friends so much. 

“I… I’m sorry for worrying everyone.” He said, his head low. “I know. I know! I _know_ I’ve been acting off lately but I…” He faltered as he stared at the tailor, who was watching him with soft yet scrutinizing eyes. 

“But..?”

He bit his lip, recalling all the promises he’s made with the two brothers. “I’m sorry, Talyn. I can’t tell you. The reason is just… too private. Too personal.”

“But it has everything to do with Deceit and Virgil, doesn’t it?” They asked gently.

The captain was surprised. This was the first time someone called Virgil by his given name and not just ‘Deceit’s brother.’ Roman didn’t even have to answer them. His widened eyes and silence were enough. 

“Are you…”

“Going to report you?” Talyn finished for him. “No.”

Roman’s head snapped up, shock all over his face. “Wait what? But I just basically—”

“Betrayed the entire kingdom and his majesty, King Thomas’s trust? Yes. However, I know you, Roman. You may be an egocentric, loud, dramatic, and impulsive person.”

“Hey!”

“Like I said, I _know_ you.” Talyn continued, talking softer and more sincerely as they stared at their long-time friend. “You know what’s right and what’s wrong. And you would never do something to hurt anyone intentionally. And you know why?”

“Because I’m captain of the Royal Guard?” He asked with uncertainty.

“Because you follow your heart. No matter what the law says.”

The two friends smiled at each other. Roman felt himself grin widely, his initial fear of losing one of his friends dissipating as if it was never there, and his confidence and moral spirit go up.

“Thank you, Talyn.” 

“You’re welcome. Now, whatever you have to do with Deceit, don’t worry.” They said as they made a motion with their hands, zipping their mouth shut. “I know what it’s like to be discriminated for being different and weird. You think I don’t hear them when they whisper about me in the hallways and streets about my hair and piercings? My cousins feel the same.”

He nodded along, feeling bad for them.

Not only was Talyn known for dressing in colorful and quirky clothing and hairstyles, but was related to a few dark arts wizards. Luckily, things have gotten better ever since Thomas made some changes. Thomas personally saw to it that Talyn’s family got equity. 

While the kingdom was definitely getting better and more accepting, there was still a lot of work to be done, since years of bigotry and prejudice against other races and classes have been instilled into the hearts and minds of many in the kingdom.

“I know. Things have been… rough. I really owe you, Talyn.” He stated as he turned his back to them.

“Oh, uh, one last thing Roman!”

“Yes?”

“There’s something else you have to know.” They said, a grim expression on their face.

With scrunched eyebrows, the captain faced his friend. “And that is?”

“The High Council and Thomas had a meeting today. Just after your report to him.” They started off slow and much quieter, as if afraid that someone might hear their conversation. “It was to decide Deceit’s fate.”

“And?” Roman leaned in with full attention, worry all over his face. “He’s going to get a fair trial, right? It-It-It’s Thomas! Thomas always gives a fair trial, no matter who it is! Right?” He asked with an unsure but hopeful tone. “Right?!”

However, Talyn didn’t answer him back, bringing their gaze to the ground, biting down on their lips.

That was when Roman knew, he wasn’t going to get the answer he wanted. 

…

After some more debating and disputes, Logan eventually won all rounds and it was decided that Virgil will live with them until his magic returns, and will help around the house with chores. Patton was against this at first, thinking that Virgil was too young to be left alone to do all the chores by himself and shouldn’t be treated as a servant, until the warlock admitted that he had worked numerous part-time jobs back in his dimension, which meant he was quite adept to cleaning. Virgil then confessed his age, to which the other two were surprised to find out that they were all the same age. 

Virgil was beyond dumbfounded. He just couldn’t understand how these two people who barely knew him, were being so nice to him. Of course, his paranoia and anxiety made him suspect the reason why these two were being so insistent was because they had a hidden agenda and were planning on either using him, or kill him in a brutal manner for later. But if that really was their intention, wouldn’t they have done it while he was out cold? 

Not only that, the memory of Logan with his arms wrapped around him was another indicator that they were actual genuinely nice people. Added to the fact that Patton went to such lengths to cook such a variety of food for them as well. 

The next day, Logan and Patton woke up to see their apartment completely clean and spotless. 

The books that Logan had laid out on their coffee table and forgot to put back were now placed within their respective bookshelves. The picture frames that Patton cherished that hung on their walls were no longer dusty and seemed good as new. Not only that, their wooden floor looked newly waxed, shining in the morning light so brightly that their reflections on the floor could almost pass off as a mirror reflection. 

“Oh, good morning!” Virgil greeted casually, coming out of the kitchen with two steaming mugs on either hand, one mug was black with the words _THE GALAXY’S BEST TEACHER_ in white. The other mug was white with _#1 POPS_ written in pastel blue cursive writing. “I made coffee! I… hope I made it like the way you taught me.” He said softly, a flicker of worry and doubt in his eyes at the thought of messing up their coffee.

“V… You cleaned the entire apartment by _yourself?_ ” Patton asked, astonished as his eyes continued to find more of the traveler’s clean work. “You even made coffee!” He exclaimed as he took his mug. “That’s amazing!”

V rubbed his nape at the compliment but smiled cutely. Other thoughts were on Logan’s mind however as he took his mug from Virgil. “How were you able to clean the whole apartment by yourself?”

“Ah… Well… I…” The warlock stammered, unable to look them in the eye. “I… didn’t get much sleep last night and… I-I didn’t want to just lay there, so I… cleaned up a bit.”

“Without your magic?” Logan asked.

“It still hadn’t returned, so I… cleaned like how you two clean.”

The roommates were aware that V closely observed them last night after telling and teaching him everything they could about how their world works, their culture and how to use the internet. The last one was the most daunting for V, as there were apparently a lot of factors to consider when scouring the internet.

To say they were impressed was an understatement. 

“Awww, I’m so proud of my dark strange son!” Patton squealed, lightly bouncing up and down in joy. 

“Son?” Virgil questioned.

“He calls everyone his child, regardless of age.” Logan replied, rolling his eyes as took a sip of his coffee. “Hmmm. This coffee is… really good.”

“Really?” Virgil asked, his eyes twinkling.

“Oh, this calls for a celebration!” Patton said, still jumping with glee. “I’m gonna go cook everyone’s favorites!”

“Um, actually Patton…” Virgil said before he could enter the kitchen. “I already… um… cooked.” 

“You cooked?!”

“Well, I didn’t really _‘cooked,’_ I just heated up the leftovers from yesterday like how you taught me… with a little help from the internet.” He clarified. “I know it’s nothing special, but I-I would be too nervous to actually cook anything on my own.”

This caused Patton to jump up and down in joy, squealing how proud he was of Virgil for doing so many things successfully after a night of cramming so much into his head. Honestly, the two humans were a little afraid that they taught V too many things in such a short amount of time that their little warlock friend wouldn’t remember or understand any of it. 

After that, the three sat down at the dining table, enjoying the leftovers from yesterday. They continued to talk, V with a few questions about the food and the non-magic world, and then Patton and Logan would explain everything as best they could to him.

As they continued eating and chatting, Logan and Patton noticed how V would stare out of the window from time to time, with curiosity in his eyes.  
“V?” Patton said with a soft nudge. 

The warlock flinched. “Uh, sorry. I was spacing out. What was that Patton?”

“Well… me and Logan—”

“Logan and I.” Logan corrected.

Patton rolled his eyes at the Grammar Nazi. “Logan and I… were wondering if you would like to go outside and see more of our world?”

V looked surprised by this, almost fearful and Patton was wondering if it was a bad idea to even ask. Given how the boy had only been here awake for a day and had to adjust and learn so much of this magicless dimension that was so different from his original. 

“I would… love to!” V enthusiastically exclaimed, surprising the other two. “To be honest with you guys… I’ve wanted to go out, but was too shy to ask because for one, I’d have to rely on you two on how everything works, and… how to talk to people and I just… ah!” He added with a frustrated sigh. “I didn’t want to burden you anymore than I already have.”

“Oh, V…” Patton said softly, placing his hand on top of V’s. “We told you. You’re not a burden. Anyone in your position would need help in navigating a new place.”

“While it may not compare to simply being a tourist.” Logan added, setting his plate and silverware aside. “There will be times when you’ll need to ask locals for directions. So, don’t hesitate to ask us. We are more than willing to help and guide you, V.”

Touched was probably an understatement. To V, these were words that he’d never expect to hear from two people he doesn’t really know, his heart swelling at their kind words.

“Thank you, Logan and Patton.”

“Back to the whole topic of V going outside…” Patton started with zeal. “I think for today, you should take him with you to the university, Logan! You’re always saying how much help you need with balancing classes, teaching and paperwork.”

“True.” Said man replied, with a thoughtful look. “While I try to maintain an organized and consistent schedule every day, I do struggle from time to time because I was not able to complete tasks on time because I underestimated the amount of time it would take to finish its predecessor, excluding the breaks I take in between for my mental well-being.” 

“And I’m proud of you for taking your mental health into consideration.” Patton responded with a fatherly smile. “Then it’s settled! V, you’re going with Logan today!”

“You’re… not coming, Patton?”

“Oh, well Logan and I don’t work in the same place.” He explained. “Logan works at the university that’s a little far from here, which is why he drives there. And I work at a restaurant just two blocks down the street.”

“Speaking of your restaurant…” Logan said as he took a sip from his glass of water. “You’re going to be late if you don’t get going, Patton.”

“Oh shoot!” Patton yelled when he looked at the clock. He sprinted to his jacket on the coat hanger and dashed to the door. “Bye! Have fun you two!” And with that, Patton left, leaving Logan with Virgil. 

“Aren’t you going to be late?” V asked Logan as they took all of their dishes to the sink. 

“Not to worry, V.” Logan calmly stated. “I don’t have any classes today. I just have some papers to grade and continue my research.”

“Research?” V repeated. “Research on what?”

“While I would love to go into an in-depth lecture on my studies and research, I think it would be better if I showed you. Now, get ready.” He said as he also took his jacket from the hangar. 

“By the way… I’ve been meaning to ask, but what’s a university?”

After Logan got over the realization that a university was completely unfamiliar to V, Logan explained as simply as he could on how the education system in this world works. He continued to explain as they took the elevator (which V didn’t understand and was scared of until Logan had to assure him that it would not gobble them up nor crash on them) down to the parking lot.

Then Logan had to explain what a car was. And also convince Virgil that it was completely safe. 

“What if it crashes on us?” Virgil screamed out in fear as he sat shotgun, gripping his seatbelt tightly. “What if someone else’s car crashes on us?!”

“I’m a very good driver, V. I won’t let us crash.” He assured gently, like how Patton taught him. “Trust me.”

At this, V visibly relaxed, letting go of the seat belt. “Ok… I-I trust you, Logan.”

The drive to the university was more or less a combination of driving slower than usual and explaining everything to V. Though, Logan admittedly enjoyed that part. He was a teacher for crying out loud, of course he enjoyed teaching V so many things. The traffic lights, what people wore, how almost everyone had a car, but it also caused traffic jam and consequently late workers. 

As Logan pulled up to the parking lot, V marveled at the sight of the very big red-bricked, castle-like building that seemed to stretch beyond the property. Trees and benches lined the parkway, a few students idling around, a lot of them carrying books. 

“Welcome to Sanders University, V.” Logan proudly declared as they got out of the car.

“Woah…” V said in wonder, his eyes flying from one building to the next. “ _This_ is a school? It looks like castle!”

“And it was built with that intention.” Logan responded. “When the university was first founded, it was originally meant to house children of noble and royal families, which is why it was built in such a grandeur-like structure. Now, it is one of the most prestigious schools in the world, housing some of the most talented and brilliant minds.”

“Morning Professor!” A small group of students greeted as they passed.

“Good morning!” Logan greeted back. “Come, V.”

“Where are we going?” 

“To my office. I must get some papers to—”

“Logan!” A female voice called out to him.

Turning around, the pair saw a beautifully tanned woman with brown hair in a loose braid, wearing a purple sweater and white pants and brown boots. Logan was about to greet the woman back, when he suddenly felt V hide behind him, gripping the sleeve of his dress shirt, utter fear all over his face as he looked at the woman was approaching faster now.

“V? What’s wrong?” Logan asked with worry, as V tightened his around his sleeve.

“Valerie…” He said with a tremble in his voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit, not my favorite chapter, and definitely not my best chapter either, but I wanted to get this done before my computer gets cleaned. I hope you still enjoyed and have thought of some theories on what's gonna happen next! Thank you!


	7. We Get It. You're Adorable.

“Morning Logan!” Valerie greeted merrily. Her eyes turned to the boy cowering behind him. “Who is this little guy?” She asked with a curious smile.

“V, meet Valerie. The head of the musical theatre department.” Logan introduced with V still behind him, but with a confused look on his face. “Valerie, meet V. He’s uh…An old friend from high school! Yes, that!”

“Oh! Well, it’s very nice to meet you V!” Valerie responded.

Virgil looked away, unable to meet her gaze. “N-Nice to… me-meet you.” He stuttered out.

“He’s really shy.” Logan said as he noticed Valerie pouting. “But since we haven’t seen in each other in so long, and he wanted to see some of my work, so I decided to give him a tour of our university.”

Valerie nodded understandingly but smiled softly. “Really? That’s so sweet of you, Logan.” She cooed, as she then glanced down at her watch. “Well, I better get going. My students’ exams are coming up, I need to get them ready or Terrance will have to give them something else to work on. Tell Patton I said hi.” She waved as she walked away from them.

Logan promptly smiled back until she was out of hearing range. He turned to the cowering boy behind him, who still looked visibly shaken by just the mere presence of the woman he just met. Grabbing his shoulders, the bespectacled man searched for answers in Virgil’s purple eyes as to why he looked so scared. 

“V, are you alright?” Logan asked carefully. “You look positively perturbed.” The warlock gave no answer, his head still down. “You called her Valerie. You knew her name even before I introduced you to her. Why is that?” 

At this, Virgil finally looked at him with a tired sigh. His eyes flickered around them, as if checking to see if anyone was looking at them weirdly. “N-Not here. Ca-Can we just go somewhere more private?”

The professor didn’t need to be told twice. And he knew the perfect place. “Of course. We’ll head to the observatory then.” 

Unlike Patton, who was an obvious social butterfly, Logan preferred the quiet and somber ambiance of a library than a dinner party where a lot of people would be. While he did try to socialize, it often resulted to Logan looking like the awkward and stupid guy at parties that just didn’t know the right words to say. He really did try though. Even making cue cards to help him remember modern slang to use in conversations.

With all of this, Logan would often be found either at the library or at the observatory. Given his clean and outstanding record, he was given full access to it. There were even times he slept there because he was too tired to drive all the way home or had work to finish immediately. It was like his own private utopia. He was surrounded by information, logic, facts and a telescope to look up to space.

The walk there was long and a bit tiring since it was located on the school’s highest hill all the way at the far end to the right, but it was an ideal location for gazing at the stars. 

As they passed the gigantic library, Logan was about to give a short exposition of the library’s history upon noticing V’s curious stare at the large building, when another voice stopped them in their tracks.

“Ah, Logan! I’m glad I caught up with you. I came to ask if you’re coming to the meeting next week about the university’s budget for the exams and upcoming events?”

Logan opened his mouth to reply when he suddenly felt V grip his dress shirt tightly, and had now retreated behind him, just like when he first saw Valerie. Only now, V was quaking, his eyes wide with panic, and his breathing uneven as he continued to stare at the newcomer. 

“Would you excuse us me for a moment?” Logan said politely as he took V with him to the back of the library. “Ok, V, remember what I taught you. Breathe in for four, hold for seven, and out for eight.”  
V looked uncertain but slowly followed Logan’s instructions. “I… He… That was…”

“It’s ok, It’s ok.” Logan reassured, slowly rubbing circles on V’s back. “You don’t have to explain yourself now. Just focus on your breathing ok? In for four, hold for seven and out for eight.”

It took more than a minute for the bi-colored haired man to calm down completely, but he calmed down enough to stop shaking. “I’m good. I’m good…”

“Good. Now, do you want to tell me why you were panicking so much?” 

Virgil hesitated. “You should go talk to him first. I don’t want to keep you. It sounded like he wanted to talk to you about something important.”

_How you feel is important too,_ Logan wanted to say. 

Sighing, Professor Logan sternly gazed at the warlock. “Ok, I’ll be quick. But don’t leave this spot, ok?”

He nodded back. 

After having a quick conversation with his colleague, where Logan confirmed his attendance, he walked back to V was now leaning against the wall, his eyes staring up at the blue sky. Logan couldn’t help but admire V’s intriguing, star-like purple eyes once more. The sight was surprisingly aesthetically pleasing to the eye. V in his black hoodie and black jeans with black and white converse, up against the brick red wall, his long purple bangs cascading over his eyes perfectly in contrast to his dark brown hair at the back that was kept short. 

“What? Is there something on my face?” V asked, snapping Logan out of his thoughts.

“No, no. It’s nothing.” He denied as he walked closer to his friend. “How do you feel, V? Better?”

“Yeah…” He replied weakly. “Thank you, Logan. Though, I think I really owe you an explanation now.”

“You can tell me at the observa—”

“No.” He cut in, his voice firm. “This—” He gestured to the barren location around them. “—Is private enough.” When Logan made no counterarguments, V continued. “The woman earlier… the one I called Valerie? She looked, sounded and acted just like a Valerie from my dimension.” A puzzled look crossed the scholar’s face, but V carried on. “And then that guy from a little while ago? He looked and acted exactly like King Thomas! The one I’ve been telling you about!”

Instead of being startled, like how V thought how Logan would react, he had a curious and thinking expression, as if connecting the dots. “And that’s why you were so scared of them.”

“Precisely.” 

“Coincidentally or not, you said that this King Thomas was the ruler of your kingdom. The Sanders Kingdom?”

“Yes.” V confirmed with a raised eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, it’s just that… the Thomas that I just spoke to, is the president of Sanders University. In other words, he is, in a way, the “king” of Sanders University.” 

Virgil gasped, realizing as to what Logan was alluding to. “But that… And he is… What does this mean, Logan?” He exclaimed, clearly frustrated now with the sudden parallels.

“I think this implies that there are alternate versions of people in alternate dimensions. This alludes to the theory of parallel universes which suggests that there could be other universes besides our own, where all the choices you made in this life played out in alternate realities. The concept of a "parallel universe," is a facet of the astronomical theory of the multiverse.”

V stared a bit dumb-founded at the wordy explanation. “You kinda lost me at facet, but I get what you’re saying. Honestly… I’m just glad that wasn’t the Valerie or Thomas from my dimension.”

This caused another question to form in Logan’s head. One he couldn’t keep his mouth shut on. “You know, V. You never really told Patton and I the reason why you casted that dimensional spell in the first place.” Virgil froze at this. “Judging by how you were unconscious for three days straight, that spell must’ve taken a toll on you.”

“Uh… I…” 

“And based on my observations, based on how intellectually adept you are, you knew the dangers and disadvantages that came with that spell. So why cast it in the first place?”

“Um…” He could feel his hands clam up, and the words caught in his throat. 

“But as we’ve promised, I won’t pester you for information if you’re not ready to explain it just yet.” He declared as he adjusted his glasses. “Come now. I still have some papers to grade, and I would like to get them done by the end of the day.” 

The pair walked in silence to the observatory, and it wasn’t until they reached the main office did V gasp at the number of books that lined the shelves of the office. And he thought Logan’s room was packed with books. In the middle of the room, was a black desk, similar to the one in his apartment, stacked with piles of papers.

“Woah… This place is a lot bigger than I thought it would be.” V remarked.

“Of course, it is.” Logan said as he sat down on his office chair and took a pile. “I needed the spacious interior for all of my books.”

“Hey Logan? Do you mind if I read some of them?” V asked as he pointed to one shelf. 

The teacher allowed him to browse through the massive book collection and both soon were sucked into their own world. Virgil in books, and Logan in papers. The two weren’t even aware of how much time had passed. It wasn’t until Virgil closed the fourth book he just finished reading and stretched his limbs, after reading on the floor for the past couple of hours. He turned to Logan to see he was still engrossed in typing something on his laptop while simultaneously writing down on the notebook next to him.

Not wanting to disturb him, the warlock stood up and quietly exited the office. He went to the staircase he had been curious about ever since the two first entered the white circular tower. Climbing up the steps, he pushed back his paranoid thought of the possibility of Logan getting angry at him for leaving the office without saying a word and wandering around areas he was unfamiliar with. If Deceit was here, no doubt he would scold him.

_Brother…_

He had almost forgotten about his brother that sacrificed himself so that Virgil could escape. Deep guilt ate him, as he knew his brother was most likely dead. Either at the fight with the knights, or sentenced to death. Even if Deceit managed to survive the fight, he knew that his brother would most likely be sentenced to death.

While King Thomas was renowned for being against the death sentence, and desired to abolish it completely, the High Council argued that the sentence was one of the most effective ways of disciplining the people and ensuring that the laws of the kingdom be upheld. To this day, whether or not the death sentence would be removed, it was still up for debate. 

His heart ached at the thought of his one and only family walking up to guillotine, being burned at the stake, hanging, drowning, or taken out by an executioner. He thought of how alone he would feel, staring at a crowd that were filled with nothing but hatred and prejudice in their eyes. Yet, knowing his brother, he would probably be thinking of Virgil, even in his last moments. It was a self-centered thought, but it made him miss his brother nonetheless. 

_Once I regain my powers, should I go back? What if I’m too late? What if he’s not even there anymore and they just dumped his body somewhere? What if they recognize me and chase me again? Then everything brother fought for would be for naught!_

He stopped spacing out when he got to the upper deck and saw that it was already night time. The light of the surrounding buildings giving off a warm glow, blending in with the lights of the city in the distance. The familiar cold and crisp air gave Virgil a sense of déjà vu but also a sense of peace. When was the last time he was able to enjoy the night breeze and not worry about being spotted or hunted down? 

It was then Virgil saw the giant telescope that shot upwards to the sky, he was puzzled and astonished at the same time as to how non-magic users were able to complete such a task. 

“Ah, there you are.” Logan announced as he walked up to him.

“Oh, sorry I wandered off on my own, I just—” Logan stopped him with a raised hand.

“You were curious.” The astrochemist said with a soft smile. “And I admire curiosity. It’s what drove humanity to make discoveries and make our modern-day inventions. Would you like to take a look?” He asked as he gestured to the telescope.

V’s eyes widened. “Are you sure? I’ve never touched something of that size and scale so I don’t know if—”

“V.” Logan sternly said as he held him by the shoulders gently. “I’ll help show you how to use it.”

A faint blush appeared on Virgil’s cheeks once he realized how close their faces were, how assuring Logan’s hands felt and that soft gaze made him acutely aware of his heated heart. Nodding slowly, Logan gave a brief explanation of how it worked as Virgil approached the bottom of the telescope where the eyepiece was and gasped. 

He saw a blanket of stars all shining and shimmering together in a beautiful array of colors. Even back in his dimension, Virgil never saw this many stars. 

“This is… amazing!” He exclaimed, unaware of the huge grin on his face.

“See a constellation with three stars aligned in a straight line?” The teacher asked. “That’s Orion, one of the most recognizable constellations in the world.”

“Oh! I see it! I see it!” V declared with excitement.

For the next few minutes, Logan continued to point out constellations to Virgil while stating a few facts about them as well. For a while, V forgot about his worries back in the other world, and Logan forgot about his unfinished research paper still on his desk. It was not like Logan to procrastinate, but he rarely gets the opportunity to teach someone who was genuinely interested into stars as much as he was. His students were already familiar with it, and whenever he tried teaching it to other students, they would get bored or simply not listen because it was not their field of interest. 

“And if you look over there, you see Virgo.” Logan continued on. “It means Virgin. It is believed to personify Persephone, who in mythology, was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of harvest and agriculture. Eternal spring once reigned upon the Earth, until that fateful day when the god of the underworld, Hades, abducted Persephone, the radiant maiden of spring.”

“Wow… Persephone must’ve been something for the god of the underworld to have to abduct her.” V commented. 

“You know V, Virgo reminds me a bit of you.” Logan added.

“What?” Virgil deadpanned. 

“Well, according to another myth, Persephone, now crowned queen of the underworld, fell in love with a beautiful youth known as Adonis. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, first fell in love with him, but after his death, she entrusted Persephone to look after him.”

Virgil could kinda see where this story was going. “But then Persephone wanted him to herself.”

“Correct. Zeus, the king of gods, had to intervene and make a deal with the two goddesses. Persephone will have Adonis for six months of the year, and other six months with Aphrodite. Which is another mythical explanation as to why we have spring and summer, then autumn and winter for the other.”

“While that story was interesting, I don’t see the connection with me and Virgo.”

“Ah, well… Persephone was an undoubted beauty. And even though she is not the goddess of beauty, she is the most associated goddess to Virgo. Despite the title of queen of the underworld, Persephone was known to be one of the most compassionate and hard-working deities out there. And well… you…”

Virgil soon realized what Logan was alluding to, and he couldn’t help but stare at Logan’s beautiful brown eyes. Logan just called him beautiful and compassionate. Aside from his brother, no one had ever complimented him on his looks before. Sure, it may sound superficial, and a little awkward, but Logan had admitted over breakfast that he was not good with feelings. 

And if Virgil was being honest, he thought Logan was way out of his league. Yes, he knew Logan was handsome, but to Virgil, the most mesmerizing part of the man before him was how the man’s eyes shone with wonder and curiosity. As if he aimed to discover all the secrets of the universe. He was beginning to see what Logan meant. And if that was the case, would Logan be Adonis?

“Logan… you… I…” V was at a loss of words. 

Their faces closer than ever, so close they could feel their breath against each other. With just a few inches more their lips could—

Until Logan’s cellphone ringtone loudly rang throughout the observatory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter felt a bit rushed. I have deadlines to meet this weekend and the weeks after, so I wouldn't be able to update the story if I did this later. I know what Logan did was a bit of cringey flirting, but hey, Logan's awkward. I promise future chapters will be better once exams and other deadlines are done! Thank you for understanding and thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


	8. Well, I'm Hopelessly Crushed!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! I luckily finished this chapter on time for Valentine's! And hey, if you're single like me, that's ok. Valentine's day can be spent with the friends and family you love. Because my friends and I simply went out to have special chicken wings for lunch after school then hang out at the coffee shop.

“So-Sorry.” Logan stammered out, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

Virgil gave a sympathetic smile. “It’s ok.” He responded, his own cheeks a faint pink. 

“Hello?!” The teacher answered with an edge to his voice as he took a few steps away from the other. 

As Logan was busy with his phone call, Virgil was busy pondering over what the hell just happened. They were just looking at stars. Supposed to be just looking at stars. They were having such a good time. He felt himself relax around the other. But why? Why were things developing so fast? He just met Logan yesterday in an unexpected turn of events. Maybe he was mistaking his kindness as romantic gestures? Yes, that’s got to be it. 

“After all, there was no way someone like Logan would like someone like me.” Virgil began mumbling to himself. “I’m too awkward. Too plain! A jittery mess! A complete outsider! Literally! I’m from another dimension for crying out loud! Besides… Logan’s too hot for me. There’s no way—”

“Ahem.” V turned around to see Logan staring at him with a smirk. “That was the Vice President. He just wanted to check in since I work closely with him on organizing events for the university.”

Virgil slowly nodded, red creeping up all over his face. “Ahuh…” He resisted the urge to cover himself in his hoodie and just die of embarrassment. Was it possible to die of embarrassment? He knew Logan heard him. 

_How adorable._

“Are you hungry, V?” Logan asked coolly. “There’s a coffee shop nearby.” 

After a semi-awkward walk to the coffee shop, with V looking at the ground as he walked like it was the most interesting thing in the world, and Logan with his head held high and hands clasped behind his back. Neither spoke, but both could feel the tension between them. Virgil was still brooding over the things he said out loud and mentally scolding himself for saying that. While Logan was simply smiling to himself, as he led the way, feeling oddly satisfied with tonight’s turn of events.

As they entered the coffee shop, an overwhelmingly delightful smell entered V’s nose and he unconsciously loudly sniffed the air. “What… is that smell?”

“That, my dear V, is the smell of coffee.” Logan answered. “Allow me to give you a brief history of it. Legends has it the discovery of coffee centers around a young goat herder named Kaldi in the Ethiopian province of Kaffa around the late 6th century.”

“Etho… Kaf… what?” Virgil sounded lost.

“Ethiopia. A country all the way across the Atlantic sea. Kaffa is the province where they say coffee originated.” He explained.

“I don’t know what the Atlantic sea is, but ok, continue.” 

“Legend has it that he noticed a strange restlessness in his flock after they had eaten the berries and leaves of an unknown plant. Monks from a nearby monastery heard of this phenomenon, and after various trials discovered that by roasting, grinding and infusing in water the seeds of this plant, a unique beverage could be obtained. This beverage helped to keep them awake during long hours of prayer.”

“So… it’s a drink that was discovered by goats, and it keeps people awake?” V questioned with suspicion.

Logan scoffed lightly with a smile at the question. “Well, when you put it like that…”

“Professor!”

The two turned to a pair of girls who walked up to them, one was tall with platinum blonde hair, icy blue eyes, wearing a beige velvet sweater, blue denim jeans and brown boots. The other girl had brown hair, light brown eyes, and wore a long-sleeved black dress with a red ribbon tied around the color with matching red ankle boots.

“Ah, good evening Miss Woods, Miss Hernandez.” He greeted the blonde and brunette respectively.

“Professor, we were wondering when the events committee would announce the date for the starlight show?” Woods asked, her smile very wide.

“We’ve been _dying_ to find out because we volunteered to help promote the event.” Hernandez added, inching a bit closer to Logan.

“Oh, well that’s very kind of you two.” Logan said, without batting an eye. “I didn’t know you two were so interested in preventing light pollution.”

“We’re very interested!” The girls said in unison.

“Well, according to Joan, the show is set for somewhere in the middle of next month.” Logan answered as he adjusted his glasses. “I’ll let you know when the committee has set an exact date. It’s good to see the youth still care for matters such as this.”

Woods and Hernandez giggled with knowing smirks. “Sure, Professor!” And with that, the two ladies left.

Turning back to his companion, Logan frowned upon seeing V with a shadow over his face. “V? Everything alright?”

“Huh? Oh… yeah. Everything’s alright.” He murmured, still looking dejected. 

At this, the teacher crossed his arms. “V, I may not be the best with emotions, but I can tell when someone is lying. Now tell me, what’s really wrong?”

The warlock sighed, finding himself being uncharacteristically honest today. Maybe that was the effect of coming into a new world. He didn’t have to lie so often anymore because he just felt like he didn’t really have a reason to. “It’s just… well, back in my world, someone of your status, with your looks, you’d probably be a high noble. Heck, you could become the royal advisor if you wanted to.”

A flattered expression graced Logan’s face. “Most likely.”

“And I’m…” _A nobody. Someone not worth any sort of title. An outcast. A criminal. A dark wizard. Nothing like the two beautiful and intelligent student girls of his._ “…Nothing like you, or Patton. So why are you two so nice and insist on treating me as an equal?”

Logan looked torn between being thoughtful and surprised. Based on the stories V had told them of his world, they lived in a very old-fashioned way of thinking and living. A society where people judged you solely on your looks and intelligence. If you had neither, then you were nothing. And that was what V saw himself as. _Nothing._

Now the teacher wasn’t sure where to begin. Explaining his actions would have been a lot easier if he had Patton by his side, since the chef always had a better understanding of feelings and questions that were laced with it. While Logan had a number of ways he could answer V’s question, he knew he needed to pick the right one. Saying the wrong thing could break the ‘relationship’ they’ve managed to build in the short amount of time they’ve known each other, and Logan couldn’t have that. 

“I think you are mistaken, V.” Logan remarked as he adjusted his glasses again.

“Huh?” 

“You are mistaken if you think you are nothing like me or Patton.” He expounded as he gestured for the both of them to sit at an available wooden table for two. “While yes, Patton and I are different from you, in a sense, seeing as how we cannot travel between worlds nor manipulate water at will. But you are smart, V.”

Virgil looked up, a weird mix of disbelief and hope in his eyes. “I know I’m not stupid, but…”

“A stupid person would not have been able to adapt to a completely different world, nor learn how to use the stove overnight.” He pointed out. “Everyone is good at something, but not everyone is good at the same thing. For example, I have a vast knowledge of astronomy, and the like. However, I am not so good at cooking. Patton on the other hand, is a master chef and can cook anything.”

“But he’s not so well-versed academically.” Virgil finished for him.

“Exactly.” Logan said, a sense of pride welling up inside. “Back to your question as why we insist on treating you as an equal, it’s because you are our equal, V. Technically speaking, we all are. We are all living breathing organisms born with equal rights, regardless of ethnicity, gender, age or sexuality.” He let this information sink in with the warlock first, who slowly nodded at his exposition. “And, if I may add, if anyone here is out of my league, it’s you, V.”

“Excuse me?”

“I meant what I said.” Logan rushed out, masking the embarrassment he was feeling from blurting that out all of a sudden. “You know what? I’m gonna go order something for us. Stay put!”

As Logan lined up, he suddenly realized his heart was, once again, oddly warm and loudly beating. This was strange. Strange for the astrochemist’s standards. And he’s seen a lot of strange. So many strange things were happening in such a short amount of time. As he approached the counter, he did what he always did when something didn’t make sense to him.

Trial and error.

He met V a few days ago, who was on a flying broomstick. After saving him from falling to his demise, he hauled him into his own bed. Which, by the way, Logan has never done for a stranger before, save for members of his own family and Patton. Why did he do that though? 

The first thing that came to mind were V’s eyes. His eyes that shone like stars. 

_Oh my Stephen Grossberg!_

It was now dawning on Logan that he was experiencing symptoms of a developing crush. Now this was conflicting. While the professor knew a crush was perfectly normal for high school teens, even college students, but a man in his late twenties developing something akin to high school crush? That was a little…

Patton had badgered on Logan before about finding his ‘one true love’ and that he should at least go on a few blind dates once in a while because he was not getting any younger. To which Logan retorted saying that he’d rather not waste his time on wishful and romantic thinking when there was more research to be done. 

However, there was another problem with having a crush on V. The warlock was going to go back to his own world. He knew that. Even though V didn’t say it, his face showed it. V had to go back for some reason, even though he didn’t want to. Logan knew, as soon as the foreigner got his magic back, he would return to his world, and possibly never come back. His mood started to deflate at the thought of their otherworldly friend never returning, not even for a visit. But he would not hold it against him. That spell nearly cost V his life. It would be much safer for him that way if he never came back.

“Next please!” Logan snapped out of his thoughts as it was finally his turn.

After ordering, felt his phone vibrate. It was a message from Patton.

_Patton: Hey 😊 just wanted to check in on our resident spell-caster and my favorite teacher!_

Logan: V and I are doing well. Thank you for asking. We’re currently at the coffee shop near the university.

_Patton: :O ARE YOU TWO ON A DATE?????_

Logan: No! This is not a date. It’s getting late, and V and I simply went out to the nearest place that sells food for dinner.

Patton: _YOU TWO ARE SOOOOOOO ON A DATE!!! 😉 😉 😉 You must like him a LATTE?_

Logan: -_-

…

In a wide room made of stone walls covered with intricate and expensive red, green and wite tapestry, King Thomas sat at the head of the circular stone table, arms folded across his chest, his eyebrows scrunched, a solemn frown on his face, as he glared at no one in particular. Joan, who was to the King’s right, looked tired as they read through the papers that was handed to them just moments ago. Valerie, who was to the King’s left, had a much calmer air around her as she sat in a regal posture, yet her eyes scanned the people around her, as if reading their minds.

“Your highness, I still think Deceit should be executed at once!” The old man in white and blue robes declared sternly, to which the others around the table concurred. 

“The death sentence has left nothing but a path of blood and tears.” Thomas remarked as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I do _not_ want my kingdom to be built upon the blood and grudges of those who weren’t even able to speak up for themselves!”

“But my king!” Another, much younger man stood up, who wore a green robe with a white trim. “Prevention is better than cure. It would be wise to eliminate the disease before it spreads onto others!”

“While we appreciate your medical perspective on the matter, Sir Philipson, especially considering the fact you come from a family of physicians…” Joan interjected as they set aside the papers for now. “We’re talking about a person here. Deceit may have his faults, but he is still a living breathing _person_. Not a _disease._ ” The advisor said like they was scolding a student for misbehaving.

“Disease or not, you cannot deny the amount of crimes that scoundrel has on his record!” Another shouted, one in a red velvet robe. “Theft, arson, treason… _murder!_ And forgive me if I raise my voice, but your highness, do you really want to spare the man who has done the most crimes against you and the laws you’ve worked so hard to enforce for the betterment of the kingdom?!”

The others nodded and murmured in agreement. Thomas and Joan’s uneasiness grew. If this kept up, they knew they were losing this argument.

“You say Deceit has committed crimes against the king?” Valerie’s soft voice broke through the meeting room, silencing everyone as they turned to look at the high priestess. “Can you provide concrete evidence to show _all_ of his crimes were to spite our king?”

The members looked at each other, unsure of how to answer. Valerie wasn’t the high priestess simply because she was the most powerful. She was the high priestess because she was wise beyond her years. If Joan was the advisor that gave tactics and logical planning and advice for their next course of actions, Valerie would provide insight, looking into situations at a deeper level of understanding.

“Valerie is right.” Joan said with confidence. “We can’t deny _all_ of Deceit’s wrongdoings, but we can rule out a few of them.”

“What do you two mean?” Thomas asked, intrigued.

“Deceit’s younger brother, Virgil.” Valerie stated dejectedly. “Most of his crimes were for his brother. He stole food so that they would at least survive for a few days, he stole books to teach Virgil how to read and write, and…” She paused, as her eyes began to water. “…He killed people because they tried to hurt Virgil.” She finished as a single tear slipped out of her eye.

“And we were no better.” Thomas said with a look of realization. “We took Virgil to lure out Deceit. And…” The king recalled how the snake man fought with everything he had just to make sure the boy in purple escaped. “…He sacrificed himself for his sibling.”

“So what if he has a few redeeming qualities?” Another council member in silver and white robes asked with disdain. “That doesn’t excuse him from his misdeeds!”

“It doesn’t excuse him, but it provides a motive!” Joan fired back. “Could we really execute a man that was just doing whatever he could to protect his only family? Wouldn’t all of you put yourselves at risk if it meant protecting what matters most to you? Like your family, your partner, your best friend, your status, or your books? And what if you were simply defending yourself, but the crime was pinned on _you?_ ”

The council members looked at each other, looking for anyone to speak up against the royal advisor, or provide another point to discuss. Alas, no one did. 

With a satisfied smile, Thomas stood up. “I think we’ve reached an agreement then. Deceit will have a fair trial in three days. If he can justify his actions or at least prove he is legible for life imprisonment, then he will not be executed.”

“And if he can’t?” It was Valerie who asked this, her eyes still on the brink of tears.

“Then he must face whatever sentence the majority of the High Council votes for.” He responded with his mouth in a thin line, and remorse in his eyes. “Any objections?” No one raised their hand even though some looked like they resisted the urge to. “If there are none, then the meeting is adjourned.”

He didn’t need to say anything else, because everyone knew what most of the High Council would vote for, regardless of how the trial would go. And it was because of that, Thomas feared he might need to secretly sponsor someone to help Deceit win this trial. It was nine against three. Four if he counted Deceit. He needed someone who was open-minded and smart enough to defend an infamous criminal. But where was he supposed to find someone like that? 

Joan and Valerie were out of the question because they were part of the council. Although they could ask questions and make a few rebuttals, they couldn’t directly defend Deceit or else it would look like they were conspiring with the dark wizard. 

_Dark wizard?_

That was when it hit him. Why didn’t Thomas think of it sooner? There’s someone in his castle that’s related to a few dark wizards. Someone who has had more than their fair share of discrimination and gossip. He’d need to talk to them privately about this matter, and hopefully convince them to stand before the High Council and provide enough evidence as to why Deceit should be spared. But before that though…

“Thomas?” Joan said as they gently placed their hand on Thomas’ shoulder. “You looked deep in thought. Do you have a plan on how to sway the council’s decisions?”

The king smiled softly. It was just him and Joan now in the meeting room. Valerie went ahead to dry her tears. Whenever it was just the two of them, they’d drop formalities and simply call each other by first name. 

“I do.” The king answered. “It’s not a very solid plan, but it’s better than nothing. But before that… Do you have any idea where Captain Roman might be?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are a few OOCs here, it's because I'm not feeling so well, and so my brain isn't really thinking straight. I think it's because I'm experiencing some kind of after-effects or aftershock from taking so many exams. Anyways, I'd love to hear your thoughts as to what you think will happen next! Thank you for your time!


	9. Being Anxious About The Idea Of Growing More Anxious. Yeah, That Sounds Like Me

“Ok, let’s try this again.”

Virgil was starting to get more used to modern day technology, finally learning how to use the remote control, use the washing machine, and write on a computer. Heck, he even stopped freaking out about the elevator. Though, he still preferred it if he wasn’t alone. Right now, Virgil was preparing to use his magic again. 

With his hands spread out in front of him, the wizard closed his eyes and channeled his energy, concentrating it at the tip of his fingers until he felt it flow freely out of him. When he opened his eyes, he saw the pillow on the couch floating in the air. He mentally patted himself on the back and wondered… did all of his magic return?

“I’m back, V!” Logan declared as he entered their apartment door, paper bag in hand. “I dropped by the convenience store to—” He stopped short when he noticed all sorts of objects floating in mid-air. Books, pillows, pens, papers, water bottles, bags and more non-fragile material. 

“Logan!” Virgil exclaimed upon noticing him, panic quickly rising. “I-I can explain! I wanted to see if my magic had returned and I uh… Oh gosh, I’m so sorry I—”

“V, what ever could you be sorry for?”

“What?”

“This is incredible!” The professor said with an astonished look on his face as he continued to stare at the levitating objects. “Not only are you are defying the laws of physics, but also the laws of logic! If it’s not too much to ask, may I see more?”

Virgil began to feel an unfamiliar sense of confidence. Was this what they called pride? Flattery? He wasn’t sure, but he was liking it. And like Logan requested, Virgil lifted more and more objects into the air, purposely avoiding anything that could easily break though. 

“What’s up V and Logaaaaaaaaaaa—” Patton exclaimed upon bursting through the door, surprising Virgil, causing all the objects to fall back down. And it just so happened that a bag of crackers that Logan bought from the convenience store was floating on top of Patton’s head.

The bag hit Patton square on the head, causing a few crackers to fall out.

“Oh my gosh, Patton, I’m so sorry!” The warlock quickly said as he approached the chef. “I-I didn’t mean to… I—”

“Wow, these crackers are delicious!” Patton declared, loudly munching on another one. 

“They were from the convenience store, Patton.” Logan said, deadpanned.

“Wow! Remind me to contact their seller! We could have these crackers as part of the restaurant’s appetizers.” 

Glancing nervously at the professor, V noticed that Logan had his arms crossed, and a visible scowl on his face as he looked at his roommate. What did Logan have to be annoyed about? It was V that dropped the bag of crackers on his best friend’s head. So, he wondered why wasn’t the annoyed look directed towards him, and instead on sweet Patton that just came back?

“Patton.” 

“Yes?” Said man asked with his cheeks stuffed with the crackers.

“Are you just going to ignore the fact that we just witnessed V actually defy the laws of physics and logic?!” He huffed out.

Patton contemplated this as he swallowed his food. “Oh, right. V! That was amazing and awesome and I don’t know any more words to describe it! But I have never seen anything like that because there’s technically no way to do that, but yay! You got your magic back!”

“Th-Thank you…” V replied as he awkwardly scratched his head, a tinge of pink on his cheeks.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Logan finally crack a smile, despite having his arms still crossed. Yet, Virgil saw a flash of sadness in the scholar’s beautiful brown eyes. It was brief, and if he hadn’t been looking, then Virgil probably would’ve missed it. This caused an uneasy feeling to stir within Virgil’s gut. For what reason though?

“Oh, this calls for a celebration!” Patton declared with his hands in the air. “Oh, I know! Why don’t we celebrate with a movie? Logan and I have the day off, and there are a lot of new movies in the theater right now!” 

“Well, it would definitely help V understand more of our modern culture and technology…What do you think, V?” Logan asked.

“I’m not particularly objecting the idea, I just have one question.”

“And that is?”

“What’s a movie?”

After Patton got over his shock of V not knowing what a movie was, he began rambling about the wonders of film, how it brought artistry and technology together, despite it being shunned and feared centuries ago, it is now one of the most celebrated forms of art. Despite Patton’s passionate exposition of film, it did not really make sense to V. And how could it? Where he came from, moving pictures were only possible through magic. And moving pictures were not used as a form of entertainment for his people, they were meant to keep secrets and preserve memories.

Seeing the foreigner’s confusion, Logan decided to step in and explain it in a more technical manner. With this, Virgil was at least able to get the gist of movies. So, he decided to give it a try. But he made Logan and Patton promise him that no one and nothing would jump out of the screen.

At the local theater, Patton pointed at a series of posters all under a brightly-lit sign that said ‘NOW SHOWING’ in yellow. After explaining the purpose of movie posters to V, they asked him which would he like to watch. Patton was obviously vying for the family-themed movie, as he kept mentioning what he saw in the trailer. Logan, on the other hand, was more subtle, but still was obviously leaning towards the science-related movie.

However, neither of those movies caught V’s attention. Despite Patton and Logan’s efforts, V’s interest was completely on the horror movie poster, which is what he told the two. The two humans looked at each other with uncertainty, but agreed to watch it, since today was about their warlock friend. Seeing this, V said they didn’t have to go with what he chose, but they insisted.

“WAH!” 

“This is completely unrealistic.”

“Wow…”

Poor, sweet Patton kept jumping at every jumpscare, sometimes cowering in his seat or clinging onto V’s arm. Meanwhile Logan kept complaining under his breath about the unrealism and stupid decisions made by the characters. And Virgil? He was enjoying every bit of it. The suspense, the thrill, the wonders of the special effects… it all amazed him. Logan told him that everything they were witnessing was not real, but made in a way to look real. It amazed him. It felt like this world had its own magic. To quote from Patton, it all felt like real ‘Movie Magic.’

“So, V.” Logan started as they exited the theater. “What did you think of the movie?”

“Did you like it?” Patton added, a little jittery but still smiling.

“I… actually really did enjoy it.” V answered with complete honesty. “Honestly, I had low expectations, so maybe that’s why, but still, I… really enjoyed it.”

A proud smile graced the two humans. “Well, we’re glad you did, kiddo.”

“Um, I was also wondering…” He fidgeted with his hands as he thought about what he was about to say. “Do you think… we could watch another movie together sometime?”

Patton gasped, to which V instinctively thought that he said something wrong, until the chef tackled him into a big bear hug. “You didn’t even need to ask, V! We would love to!” Virgil felt his heart swell up at Patton’s affection, until his stomach rumbled loudly enough for both Patton and Logan to hear, for which the former chuckled lightly. “Well, _someone_ is hungry!”

“Indeed.” Logan side commented with an amused smile, deepening V’s blush and embarrassment. “Why don’t we grab some dinner?”

“Oh! I know!” Patton excitedly announced. “Why don’t we take V to my restaurant?”

“It is just a block away. What do you say, V?” Logan inquired with an arched eyebrow.

While V had to admit he has been curious about Patton’s restaurant, he wasn’t exactly sure if he wanted to go. Why? Well, for one thing, he was afraid he would make a fool out of himself in front of so many people. He didn’t have any of the dinner or eating etiquette lessons lords or middle-class people got, so he tended to avoid any high-class restaurant. Or any high-class buildings for that matter. And based on what he’s been told by Patton and Logan, Hart’s restaurant is definitely a high-class restaurant.

Aside from that, another reason why he was afraid to go, was because he didn’t want to embarrass Logan and Patton. With his awkward posture and obvious ‘leave me alone’ vibes, Virgil had no doubt in his head that he would be nothing but something for other patrons to snicker and laugh at. Which would mean they would snicker and laugh about Logan and Patton by extension. He couldn’t do that, not to them, the only two people to show him immense kindness.

He opened his mouth to say no, but one look at Patton’s big puppy dog eyes filled with hope had V hesitate. “I… uh… sure!” 

And before they knew it, Virgil found himself standing before a two-story building that seemed to be entirely covered in windows, and because it was already evening, all the blue curtains were drawn, exposing the bright white lights within the building. Yet, that did nothing to dispel the atmosphere that screamed ‘POWER AND WEALTH.’ Gulping nervously, V followed the two to the main entrance, where a young man in a baby blue dress shirt and black vest and slacks greeted them upon seeing Patton.

“Good afternoon Sir Hart!” The boy said.

“Please Daniel, Sir Hart is my father.” Patton said, brushing off the formalities with a polite and bright smile. “I’m not here as your boss, so please call me Patton.”

“Very well, Sir Patton.” 

It looked like Patton wanted to say more, but Logan—who had an impatient look on his face-- nudged the chef before he could, urging him to move forward. After that, they were led to a round table that seemed to be made of ivory with matching cushioned chairs. Again, V was in awe at the interior decorating. Royal blue and white painted walls, white crystal chandeliers hung above every table, and classic paintings hung on a few sides of the vast room. And this was only the first floor! Logan later explained to him that the second floor was mainly for those who made reservations for private events such as meetings and birthday parties.

But what had V nervously shift in his seat, was the fact that there were quite a lot of patrons, all dressed up in fancy business suits, some of the girls were wearing elegant dresses, and there were even a few families eating together. 

“It would appear that we caught up to the dinner rush.” Logan commented as he opened his menu.

“Then it’s no wonder Daniel was out alone.” Patton added. “Usually, there would be two or more outside to accommodate incoming guests.”

Oh god, that only meant this place got busier. Which meant more people, which meant a higher chance of making a fool out of himself and getting mocked in public. With his pessimistic thoughts swirling in his head, Virgil was trying very hard not have a panic attack and control his increasing heart rate. Instead of focusing on the numerous strangers around them, he decided to focus on the food on the menu. By this point, he shouldn’t be surprised that he didn’t recognize most of the food, or the names, or the fancy gold lettering on them. 

And then Virgil saw the prices.

“A hundred dollars for a salad?!” He squealed out, and instantly regretted doing so, upon seeing a few heads turn in their direction. “S-Sorry… I…” He quivered under Logan and Patton’s expectant but worried gazes. “It’s just… how are these so expensive? You could feed an entire family with this much money!”

“V—”

“Do we even have enough money to pay?”

“V—”

“Oh god, I only have the allowance you gave me Logan! That’s not nearly enough to—”

“V!” Both of his companions exclaimed.

“Calm yourself, V. I assure you, we have enough money to pay.” Logan reassured.

“Yeah, kiddo.” Patton said softly as he held V’s hand comfortingly. “And I think you’re forgetting… my family _owns_ this restaurant.”

It was only now dawning on V how rich his friends were. Of course, they always have been. The dozens and dozens of books in Logan’s room, plus the exotic piles of food in the kitchen should have been his first clue. Or maybe it was their spacious apartment. Either way, Virgil was now realizing how lucky he had been. Not only did he make friends with really nice people, but really nice and really wealthy people. Back in his world, you seldom found people like that.

“Ok…” The wizard said after exhaling to calm down. “Ok. I’m sorry for freaking out. So, um, can you like, help me with the menu? I’m not really familiar with these dishes.”

Again, Patton launched himself into a zealous explanation of each dish, their nutrition facts, how they were cooked, and even gave brief backgrounds on a few of them. If Patton was Logan’s student, he’d be impressed. V tried to absorb all of this, seeing how Patton was even more passionate this time. He even included some trivia facts about the desserts and drinks.

“I hope you _digested_ everything I told you!” Patton joked, which was met with Logan loudly face-palming himself, and Virgil snickering.

“Dammit Patton…” The teacher said under his breath.

After ordering, V was surprised at how quickly their meals came to them. Less than five minutes actually. Patton continued to explain that their fast serving time was another reason why Hart’s was a five-star restaurant. As they ate their meals, V was considering an idea. An idea that brought him anxiety and uncertainty, yet it was something he was considering for good reason. 

These two have done so much for him, and they trusted him enough to leave him alone in their apartment, yet he felt like he still never gave his full trust to them. They never pressured him and never made him feel uncomfortable, so it only made sense for him to do this, right? No, he needed to do this. 

“V? Are you alright?” Patton asked, noticing the warlock had stopped eating and was glowering at his plate. “Is the food not to your liking?”

“No… it’s not the food.” He mumbled back.

“Stomach pain?” Logan guessed. “Fatigue? A Headache? Was it the corndog we bought at the movie theater? I told you those weren’t healthy.”

“No…”

“Then what is it, V?” Patton asked, the concern on his face and voice growing.

“Oh boy, I’m actually considering it…” He whispered in a way that made it sound like it was the end of the world.

“What?” Logan asked.

“You’ve kinda made me want to open up to you, but big surprise, I’m really anxious about it.” He answered, fidgeting with his fork and spoon. “On the subject of my name…”

“Oh, that’s ok.” Logan interjected dismissively. “No pressure if you don’t want to—”

“Logan.” Patton interrupted this time, an edge to his voice. “Shut your ever-flapping gobtalker, ok?” The chef warned with a tight smile.

V groaned. “Oh, man… Why did we have to have a heartfelt moment?”

Patton was quick to comfortingly intervene. “It’s totally fine. This is a very accepting environment. But I have to tell you I’ve been theorizing on it for a very long time. So, if it’s not exactly the name I think it is… I will lose it.”

“Ok…” V said like he was preparing for his own deathbed. “Promise you won’t laugh though.”

“Of course not.” 

“My name…MyrealnameisVirgil!” He rushed out. “Ok. It’s just like a band aid. You Just gotta rip it off.”

Virgil studied his two human friends for their reactions. Patton slowly realized what he said and broke out in a toothy grin. “Oh my gosh! What a fancy name! Virgil. Viiirrrr-gil. Virgiiiiiillll.” He giggled like a child. “I like it!”

“It’s not what I anticipated, but I do like it.” Logan wondered if he should tell him about the Roman poet Virgil that guided a writer through hell in very famous classic story, but decided against it. “I surmise this means you have full trust in us now, Virgil?”

“Yes.” He confessed. “You probably guessed how I have… ‘trust issues,’ but the both of you have done so much for me. Someone you’ve only known for a few weeks! I think it’s only fair that I at least tell you my real name.”

“Well, we thank you for trusting us then.” Patton added.

“And thank you guys for everything.” Virgil said with sincerity. 

With that out of the way, they continued to eat, but with a light atmosphere and cheerful chatter. After eating all their dishes, they soon leave Hart’s Restaurant with full and satisfied bellies, and back to their apartment. 

With such a long but fun day, they all agreed to turn in early. V had been crashing on the recliner couch for the past few weeks accompanied with a black and blue blanket—courtesy of Logan—even though Patton had offered to get the extra mattress they had in the storage closet that they take out and use for guests. The warlock had insisted that he much preferred the couch since he had gotten used to sleeping there.

With soft goodnights to each other, the lights were turned off, and Virgil drifted off to sleep.

'How do you plead?'

Virgil snapped his eyes open. That voice was all too familiar. He’s heard that voice speak high above the crowd time and time again. The kind of voice that spoke with authority and power yet sounded melodious to the ears at the same time. Virgil’s eyes drifted upwards, where, sure enough, King Thomas sat on his red cushioned gold throne. The king’s eyes filled with disdain. 

'Why…'

'The king asked you a question!' A voice boomed, as a figure stepped out of the shadows and stood by the king’s right. 'Answer!' Joan commanded, absolute authority radiating from them.

'I… I don’t know—'

'You don’t know why you’re here, do you?' An eloquent voice emerged, just as a familiar woman appeared on Thomas’ left. Valerie looked just as displeased. 'For crimes against the kingdom: theft, treason, practicing the dark arts… and so many more.' She spat bitterly, venom laced with each word. 'Just like your brother.'

'My brother!' Virgil snapped, only to realize he was chained by the ankles and wrists with nullification chains. 'Where is my brother?!' He yelled, despite the constricting chains. It was then he realized he was in the throne room of the castle. 

'You’ll never see your brother.' Thomas calmly stated. 'If you refuse to leave.'

'What are you talking about?!' He shouted, struggling against his bounds. 

Suddenly he felt something cold and sharp prod itself against his back. A knife. Virgil froze on the spot. Did this happen before? It did. This was how he was lured to the castle, used as bait to draw Deceit out. He was held as collateral. His life, for his brother to surrender. And surrender he did. But not without a fight. 

Would he finally die by the hand of this unknown assailant though?

'You disobeyed me, stormcloud.' His assailant whispered in his ear, causing Virgil to hyperventilate. 'Didn’t I tell you to never cast that dimensional spell?'

It was his brother. His only family. His only family was pointing a knife at him. His brother. The same brother that raised him on his own. The brother who promised to always protect him. The same brother that promised he’d never leave him and that they would face everything together. That same brother, was now threatening him.

'I-I didn’t want to break our promise!' Virgil quickly said, tears pooling in the corner of his eyes. 'I know you told me not to, but I had no choice!'

'That’s not the only promise you broke.” Deceit bitterly remarked. 'You told them your name.'

Virgil felt himself shake with guilt. 'I trust them! I really do! They’ve been so nice to me and—'

'And you don’t think they’re not capable of betraying you?' Joan asked, a smirk on their lips.

The purple wizard bit his lips in incertitude. He knew. He knew Logan and Patton could betray his trust. Deep down, it was something he deeply feared. Because as much as he hated to admit it, he depended on his two friends so much. Not just for living arrangements or money, but for his sanity. He would’ve gone crazy if not for them. He wouldn’t have been able to understand the internet, how people commute, or the history of coffee! 

'I know… they can betray me.' Even saying it left a bitter taste in his mouth. 'But it was my choice to trust them! And if they ever do betray me, then I’ll deal with it, and face it!' By now, his body was shaking, a mix of determination and fear in his eyes.

'Hmph.' He heard Deceit say. 'I’m proud of you, Virge.' 

Virgil turned around to face his brother, only to see Deceit plunge the knife into himself. 'NOOOOOO!' The younger brother screeched, trying so desperately to reach out to his brother’s body, but the chains held him down. 'DECEIT! BROTHER!'

Their surroundings changed. They were now in the familiar forest where he ran from Roman and his royal guards. Dark trees that were tall and ominous, and the grass a sickly dark green. Vines from the trees slithered onto Deceit’s body, pulling him deeper into the forest. 

'Virgil…' His brother weakly spoke with a smile as he faded into the darkest part of the forest.

'No! Please!' Virgil pleaded, tears uncontrollably streaming down his face like a waterfall. 'BROTHER!'

Just then, he felt a hard hand grab his ankle. Turning around, Virgil’s stomach dropped. Thomas, Joan and Valerie were now all green, their eyes were dark pits, their hair replaced with leaves and vines, and the scariest part? Their voices were all raspy yet loud.

'YOU DO NOT BELONG THERE!!!'

A horrendous scream rang throughout the apartment, waking both Patton and Logan, and consequently cracking a few of the glass cups. The two humans ran out of their rooms and took the still wailing and kicking Virgil into their arms. 

“Virgil! V!” Logan tried shaking the boy awake, to no avail. “Wake up! It’s me, Logan!”

“Oh, god… Oh my god…” Patton whimpered, his heart breaking at the sight of their wizard friend’s cries. “Virgil, it’s us! Patton and Logan!” 

He screamed over Virgil, holding the boy’s head in place to try to stop him from flailing so much. At this, his movements slowed down, and his yelling turned into loud sniffing. “Patton...?” He squeaked out, opening his bleary red eyes.

“Yes! Virgil, it’s us!” Logan exclaimed, relief washing over him. “You’re going to be ok. You’re going to be ok.” The professor repeated what he did the first time the purple wizard experienced a nightmare, rubbing circles onto his back softly. “Remember the breathing exercise I told you, hm? In for four, hold for seven, and out for eight, ok? Can you do that for us, V?”

Still feeling a bit fuzzy from his nightmare, Virgil was finally able to register their words, and weakly nodded. And so, he slowly followed their counting. In for four, hold for seven, and out for eight. And rinse and repeat. This process must’ve lasted for at least ten minutes, before all three of them felt like Virgil was finally calm enough to speak. 

Patton stayed with Virgil on the couch, holding him in his arms while simultaneously stroking his head, while Logan went to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water. He was shocked to find that some of their cups and china had a few cracks in them. The china was Patton’s, but he doubted the chef would hold it against Virgil. After securing a full glass of water, he brought it to their worn-out companion, who took some time but finished the whole glass. 

“Thank you…” Virgil croaked out, his voice a little worn from the screaming. 

“How are you feeling, son?” Patton asked, his eyebrows scrunched up, yet a delicate smile was on his face, putting on a brave face for them.

_Terrible. Like shit. Bothered. Afraid._

“Better…” He said, leaning his head against the crook of Patton’s neck.

Logan sat on the other side of the couch. Now the warlock was situated between them, feeling better. And by better, he meant numb. 

“Was it like this the first time?” Patton asked, looking at Logan.

The professor didn’t need to be a genius to know that Patton was referring to the first time Virgil had a nightmare. However, that was during the night Virgil first appeared. Almost three weeks ago. Strange how three weeks could feel like forever ago. 

“No…” Logan admitted. “This was worse.”

Virgil heard everything, but was not really paying attention. His mind was still racing back to his nightmare. He could only remember bits and pieces of it, but the suspense and fear were still fresh in his mind. He remembered seeing the big three. Deceit was there as well. He remembered seeing his brother be taken away, somehow being swallowed up whole by the darkness. Then he remembered three, deafening, and raspy voices shout at him.

“Virgil, can you hear us?” He heard Patton’s gentle voice.

“Hm?”

“Patton and I have decided to stay with you for the night.” Logan said. “If it’s alright with you, that is. The couch can hold up to four people.”

He hated being clingy. He hated being a burden. He hated being needy. But he needed this. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Virgil didn’t want to be alone tonight. He was scared out of his mind. Scared that he might have another nightmare, possibly even worse than the last two. 

His face must have shown his answer, as Patton gently let go of Virgil. “I’ll be back. I’m just gonna get some extra pillows.”

That left Logan with Virgil. The teacher wasn’t the best at comforting, to him, it was just dumb luck that he managed Virgil’s first nightmare by himself. But with Patton temporarily gone, Logan wasn’t sure what to do now. Was he supposed to apologize? Give sympathy? Or both? As he contemplated this, he didn’t realize the wizard was looking at him, until he felt a hand on top of his.

“Logan?”

Said person’s head snapped up. Surprised that the normally shy man was making the first move. 

“Yes, V?”

“You keep calling me V.” He pointed out. “Even though I told you my real name.”

A soft smile subconsciously appeared on Logan’s lips. “I guess I’ve just gotten used to it. Why? Would you prefer I refer to you as Virgil from now on?” 

“Either works for me.” He replied casually. “Virgil, V, Virgo… any will do.” 

Before he could react, Patton came back with three extra pillows and a colorful quilt big enough for all of them and to keep them extra warm. They snuggled together comfortably, with Logan to Virgil’s left, and Patton to his right. 

“Goodnight!” Patton said.

“Goodnight, guys…” Virgil said in a tired voice.

“Goodnight…” Logan said, his voice barely a whisper. “…Virgo.”

Virgil heard that. He felt his heart flutter, and his face heat up at that small, seemingly insignificant nickname. He hoped this would be enough to dispel anymore nightmare from happening. Yet, he kept thinking back to his nightmare. He could barely remember anything from his first nightmare, but the latest one, felt like it was sending one, _clear_ message.

_I do not belong._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry for not updating consistently! My internet went down for a few days, so I had to work my way around that. To make up for it, I made an extra long chapter this time! And yes, I've finally decided on the number of chapters this story will have. I'll try to update as consistently as possible, but again, things keep interfering with my plans and I have to improvise. Thank you all for your support and hope you enjoyed this long chapter update! :) Thank you also for 100+ kudos! :D
> 
> For those of who that like to theorize, what you do think Virgil's dream could mean? Leave a comment below ~


	10. Oh, Don't Be Dramatic. That's My Job.

Logan was the first to wake up, his body clock already used to waking up earlier than Patton. As he stretched his arms, he realized he was on their recliner couch. Patton was still sleeping, but then he noticed the big gap between them and the blankets tugged away, as if someone just got up. 

“Patton!” He said as he gently shook him awake. “Patton, wake up!”

“Mommy, no… Five more minutes…” The chef murmured as he wrapped himself tighter with the blankets.

The professor sighed, knowing how much of a heavy sleeper his best friend was. And there was usually only one sure way to wake him up. “Alright, but I guess I’m eating the last cookie.”

Patton sprung up faster than Logan could finish his sentence. “DON’T YOU FRIGGIN DARE!”

“Patton!” Logan exclaimed as he grabbed his shoulders. “Where is Virgil?”

As if on cue, they suddenly heard soft humming coming from the kitchen, along with the clanking of pots and silverware. Getting up from the couch, the two entered the kitchen to find Virgil cooking. And what surprised them more was the amount of food on the table. This was even more than the last time Virgil cooked for them.

“Oh, my chinchilla on a hot summer day!” Patton said out of surprise, his hands flying to his cheeks, making Virgil turn around to face them. “This is amazing, Virgil! I can’t believe you made even more food than last time!”

Virgil blushed, a shy smile on his face as he rubbed his nape. “I… wanted to thank you guys. You know, for last night. I thought, the least I could do was make breakfast.”

This made Patton squeal like a fangirl who just met their idol, running up to him and hugging him like there is no tomorrow. “Oh, I’m so proud of you! Ya know, it only feels like yesterday you were too afraid to even touch the microwave. Now look at you! They grow up so fast!”

The boy just shook his head at Patton’s silly fatherly instincts with a smile. 

After that, the three sat down to begin their breakfast. Virgil began explaining how he read a few of Patton’s cook books, and decided to apply them. After some more chatter, Logan noticed the time.  
“Oh, dear. Is it that late already?” He asked with worry as he stood up.

Patton followed his line of sight and his eyes widened. “Chihuahua! We’re gonna be late! Time really does fly when you’re having fun!”

“Well, you two better get going!” Virgil added as he stood up and began gathering the dishes. “Don’t worry about the dishes, I’ll clean up.”

“But Virgil…” Patton said with hesitation, making Logan stop just as he was about to head to the bathroom.

“No buts, Patton!” Virgil retorted, already gathering up the dishes using his magic and flying them all towards the dishwasher. “See? Perfectly capable.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

Neither Patton nor Logan felt like leaving Virgil alone in their apartment, but Virgil didn’t want the two staying in just for him when they had work to do. They relented, and decided to leave their direct telephone numbers on the table in case there was an emergency. Virgil agreed to call, and made sure they left. 

Now alone in the apartment, Virgil’s eyes fell upon Patton’s DVD collection of Disney movies. He’s heard a lot about this company, and based on how Patton fanboyed over it, their movies must be good. Skimming through the titles, he picked out a movie titled _“Halloweentown,”_ that had a blonde teenage girl flying on a broom with a giant pumpkin in the back. 

He picked out a handful of other movies and started with Halloweentown first. And before Virgil knew it, he was completely engrossed in the movies, marathoning all the Halloween-themed ones. He got hungry in the middle of _“The Nightmare Before Christmas,”_ so he grabbed a bag of marshmallows that he bought with his own money, unknowingly humming along to _“This Is Halloween.”_

Meanwhile in Hart’s Restaurant, Patton had stepped out a bit for some fresh air. The lunch rush was even more hectic than usual, added to the fact that a few noisy kids were running around the restaurant, disturbing the other patrons, even though the parents were repeatedly asked to keep their kids in line. Just a typical day in the restaurant.

However, his thoughts went back to Virgil. It was already two-thirty, and he didn’t receive a single phone call. Virgil didn’t have a cellphone because he wasn’t sure if he could handle one. Call it paranoia, but after seeing how badly the nightmare had plagued their friend, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Virgil had to possibly deal with on his own. He’s only known the wizard for three weeks, but he already felt as if Virgil was his son, someone he wanted to protect and guide through this unfair world of theirs. 

Dialing their home phone number, Patton anxiously bit his index finger after five rings.

“He-Hello?” Virgil’s scared voice answered.

“Oh, Virgil!” Patton squawked out, letting out a relieved sigh. “I thought you wouldn’t answer! Then I would’ve called Logan, then I would’ve called the police department, then Logan would’ve called the fire department, then—”

“Patton! Patton! Calm down!” Virgil urged once the fatherly figure started panic-rambling. 

“I-I… sorry, kiddo. I meant to call to check up on you.” He cleared up.

“Patton, I’m fine.” Virgil reassured. “I’ve actually been watching the movies you recommended to me.”

“Really? The Disney ones?”

“Yup. As of now, I’m on movie number four!” He proudly declared.

“Wow!” Patton just kept getting impressed. “Oh, have you watched 101 Dalmatians yet?”

“No. Is it a good movie?”

“It’s a fantastic movie!” Patton replied with enthusiasm. “The dogs there are just soooo cute! Oh, and if you finish that, try The Lady and The Tramp next. It’s also about dogs, but it’s a story about two dogs falling in love!” He finished with a dreamy tone.

Virgil smiled, loving hearing Patton talk so passionately about so many things. He just seemed like he had too much love to give. Like seriously, who could hate a guy like him? Though the chef obviously was also flowing with mushy and warm emotions, he at least always knew the right thing to say, even in times of…

“Well, if you recommend it, I will definitely watch it.” He promised.

“Oh, that reminds me. Do you want me to take out some food for dinner tonight?” 

“If that’s what you and Logan want.” 

“Logan won’t mind as long as it’s not too unhealthy.” He said just as he glanced back at the backdoor, where he heard two knocks. His sous chef was gesturing for him to get back inside with a panicked look. “I gotta get back to work now, Virgil. See you later, son!”

Just as the wizard was about to press the button to continue the movie, the phone rang again. This time, Virgil kind of already knew who was calling. “Yes, Logan?”

“How did you know it was me?” The professor asked.

“Patton just called.” He answered. “Just checking up. You?”

“Same reason. I apologize if us calling you and worrying so insistently is beginning to be quite bothersome, V.” 

“No, no!” He immediately replied. “It’s not a bother at all! Honestly… It feels… kinda nice.” Logan didn’t need to be beside Virgil to know that the boy was blushing deeply after saying that. It made him smile. “Anyways! How are things at the university?”

“Everything is fine.” He responded casually. “I don’t have any classes as of now, so I’m grading papers. I trust you’ve eaten lunch by now as well?”

“Uh…” Virgil didn’t want to tell Logan that he just continuously ate marshmallows and chips while marathoning Patton’s movies. He knew the professor would lightly reprimand him for it, but he wouldn’t get mad. But he also knew Patton would find out and the chef would bring home more than they could finish. “I actually lost track of time because I was watching Patton’s movies.”

Logan didn’t say anything for a few seconds, seconds that gave Virgil increasing anxiety. “So, you haven’t eaten anything since breakfast?”

“No, I’ve…” He hesitated, glancing at his bowl of nearly finished marshmallows and empty glass of orange juice.” …I ate.” He hoped Logan didn’t hear the hesitation in his voice.

Logan totally heard the hesitation in his voice. “And what did you eat?”

“Um, orange juice and marshmallows?”

Then came the wordy lecture of how lunch was just as important as breakfast, and what he ate was just as important and blah blah blah, Virgil started half-listening as Logan’s lecture reached the three-minute mark. Virgil had to assure Logan that he’ll eat something healthy for lunch and to call either of them should something ever happen or if he needed anything.

“Who was that?” Joan asked, who came to borrow a few books. 

“Ah, an old high school friend of mine.” He answered. “We recently met up and decided to catch up. The guy is a great cook, just like Patton. But there are times he just forgets to eat.”

“Is he ok?” Talyn, Joan’s partner and also fellow colleague, asked. “Is he a workaholic?”

“No, there are times he just forgets to take care of himself.” He said with a bit melancholy. Joan and Talyn looked at each other, surprised to see such a worried expression on their colleague’s face.

As the sun began to set, Virgil felt himself drifting off to sleep as Prince Philip was fighting the Dragon. _No! Logan and Patton will be back soon, I have to make dinner and heat the leftovers…_

That’s what his mind was saying, but the more he tried to fight his sleep, the more appealing closing his eyes seemed. And before the credits even started playing, Virgil was sleeping peacefully on the couch, head lulled to the side, and his breathing even.

When Logan and Patton came home, they smiled at the sight. Patton took the bowl and glass to the kitchen, while Logan paused the movie and carefully adjusted Virgil’s head and blanket. He wanted to wake him up, but he also didn’t want to disturb the warlock’s peaceful slumber. After last night’s events, the two were just worried for their friend, so much so that they just wanted to spoil him. 

“You think we should wake him?” Patton asked as he smiled at Virgil’s sleeping figure.

“Were you aware of the fact that V almost missed lunch?” Logan asked.

Patton’s brows scrunched up in worry. “No. When I called him, he said he was marathoning my Disney collection. I assumed he already ate, seeing how responsible he was, and how good of a cook he was…”

“I called him shortly after you called him, Patton.” Logan added. “Worry not though, I reminded him of the importance of eating a healthy lunch, and made him swear to eat after I hang up.” 

“I guess that explains the kare kare and rice.” Patton said. 

All of a sudden, Logan heard something coming from their balcony. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Patton asked.

“Shh!” The two paused to listen carefully. After a few seconds of silence, they both heard it. 

A distant crack of thunder and lightning. 

“Huh, that was strange.” Patton commented. “The news didn’t say anything about incoming thunderstorms.”

“I don’t think that was a thunderstorm, Patton.” Logan said with wide eyes as the thunder boomed louder. 

Sprinting to the balcony with Patton by his tail, Logan hastily slid open the door, and lo and behold, he was right. Right by their balcony, was a swirling green vortex, just like the one that brought Virgil to them. Thunder and lightning cracked as the vortex grew in size, and out came a blur of black, white, and red. Luckily this time, the blur landed right into the balcony, so Logan didn’t have to worry about another magical being falling forty-four stories high.

“What in the world?” Patton wondered.

The black thing let out a pained groan, as it slightly shifted, revealing pure white slacks, and a white tunic with a red trim. Upon closer inspection, the black thing was actually just a thick cloak. The hood of the cloak slid off, revealing a handsome man with an oval face, sun-kissed skin, and fierce brick red eyes.

The newcomer’s eyes widened upon seeing the two stunned bespectacled men. He quickly stood up, dusted off his pants and straightened his back in a regal posture. “Good—” He looked around him, as if checking the time of day. “—Evening gentlemen! Pleasure to meet you! Excuse me for the sudden intrusion, but have either of you seen a boy with purple eyes, dark circles under his eyes like he hasn’t slept in ages, brown hair with purple highlights, bad posture and just screaming ‘leave-me-alone-I’m-a-ball-of-anxiety vibes?'”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprised to see this update? I know I am. Again, I will be busy this week and the upcoming weeks, so I'm updating this now while I still have the chance. Thank you for understanding and I hope you have a great day! Only two chapters to go~ Hohohoho what will happen? As always thank you everyone for your support!


	11. I've Never Felt Anything In My Entire Life

Roman gazed at the two bespectacled men, and found the one clad in blue and white to be quite endearing. If he didn’t count for the contrasting personalities and attitudes, he would’ve thought the two were twins. Of course, they still could be. But what he really needed to know was if they’ve seen Virgil or not. He badly hoped he landed in the right dimension. Travelling through that vortex was nauseating and he could already feel his weakened magic. Basically, he knew he wouldn’t be able to cast another dimensional spell for at least a full day.

Logan and Patton stared at the newcomer, with wide eyes and their mouths hanging. Patton was the first to break out of the trance, mainly because he didn’t want to look rude staring at the handsome intruder. “Um, we’re sorry, but who are you?” He asked with clasped hands, sounding as polite as he could.

The fierce-looking man tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Ah! Silly me. Where are my manners?” He exclaimed before he cleared his throat. “Captain Roman, captain of the Sanders Royal Guard! At your service!” He said with a dramatic bow. Logan and Patton looked at each other, still unsure of how to react. “Now, back to the matter at hand—”

“I’m afraid we don’t know anyone with purple eyes and with dark circles, or anyone that fits your description.” Logan interrupted, crossing his arms across his chest, glaring at Roman.

“You don’t?” 

“We don’t?” Patton asked, to which Logan quickly glared at him. “I mean… yeah! We don’t know anyone like that! Nope. Why, we couldn’t possibly be harboring anyone like that and let them into our home, let them watch my movies, eat our food and—”

“Patton!”

“Oh, so your name is Patton!” Roman said with a delighted smile. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Sir Patton.” He gave a courteous bow with a dashing smile, making Patton blush pink.

“Oh… um, the honor is all mine?” Patton replied meekly.

“And you are?”

“Logan.”

The guard assessed the man with the stubborn attitude, understanding the suspicion in his eyes. After all, it’s not everyday a random person suddenly appears on your balcony and claims to be a royal guard from another dimension. Nevertheless, Roman couldn’t afford to be rude to these people. He needed information. 

“Sir Logan! Pleasure to meet you.” He said, giving another bow in his direction. “Now, you say you’ve never seen anyone with purple eyes, loner vibes, and a dirty witch hat, perhaps?”

“No.” He firmly answered.

Roman smirked, eyeing something he spotted since first got a good look at this place. “That’s funny because I see a purple witch hat right over there.” Patton and Logan turn to the left where Roman pointed, and there was Virgil’s (now clean) purple witch hat, hanging by the rack. “Virgil is here, isn’t he?”

Once again, the two humans were surprised, mainly because this royal guard knew his name. “Before we answer your question, we must know, who are you to him?” 

“I am his best friend.” He said, matter-of-factly. “Big Surprise, I know. But trust me when I say I’m not a threat.”

“How can we be sure?” Patton questioned. “Forgive us if we’re being insulting, Sir Roman, but Virgil may not have told us everything about his world, but he’s told us how people like him are being outcasted for simply being who they are! In this world, we call that racism, and is very looked down on!”

With clenched fists, Roman contemplated two options. One, he could fight these two, or two, he could tell them everything he knows about Virgil to the point that they’d have no choice but to believe him. While the first option seemed appealing, he knew he needed these two’s trust, as they seemed highly protective over Virgil, so the second option it was. 

“Maybe after I tell you this story, you will believe me.” Roman began telling them. 

“A story?” Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, I love stories!” Patton cheered. “Tell us!”

Roman cleared his throat and began to tell the story. “Once, there was a snake, and a young woman. The young woman was very beautiful, and charmed everyone around her... Including the snake. But because he was a snake, he was forced to simply admire her from afar. Until one day, the snake couldn’t take it anymore and approached the forest witch, asking if there was a way for him to love the woman he admired so much. The witch said yes, there was. The witch would give him a potion, that would give him the looks of a handsome man, so handsome, that the woman wouldn’t be able to resist him.”

“What was the catch?” Logan commented.

“Shh!” Patton scolded. “No spoilers! This is getting good!”

“The witch agreed to give him the potion. However, she warned him that the enchantment will break, should he ever make the woman cry tears of grief. The next day, the woman met with a handsome man, who had piercing yellow eyes. They fell in love, and soon had a son together. But on the day of their son’s birth, they discovered that their son’s face was half-covered in yellow scales, his two eyes mismatching, one brown and one yellow.”

Patton gasped. Logan was not that surprised, but didn’t interrupt. 

“The woman was in despair, with no idea how her son ended up looking the way he did. Desperate to prevent her from crying, the man went back to the witch and asked her if there was a way for her to remove her son’s scales and make him look human. She said there was none, for the baby was too young to endure any type of magic. However, there was a potion that would ensure that their next child would look completely human. The catch this time was that the child would be forever linked to the magic that the potion came with. With no other option, the man asked for the potion and told his wife. Like they so wished, their next son looked completely human, and they were overjoyed.”

“What happened to the first son?” Logan asked, and Patton didn’t shush him this time.

Roman casted his eyes to the ground. “While the second son was showered with love, the first son was neglected, and imprisoned in his own house, never allowed to leave, never allowed to see the outside world… Until one day, the second son broke his older brother out of the house, and they escaped together. Of course, they weren’t prepared for what was to come. Outsiders shrieked and screamed upon seeing the half-snake boy, until they angrily chased them out, and back into their parents’ home, where the mob followed them.”

“Oh no!” Patton exclaimed, his hands flying to his cheeks.

“The parents were taken in, and before either of them knew it, they were led to the execution stage, and the man told his wife the truth. Furious, the woman kicked and fought the man she called her husband, to point she cried more than tears of grief. She cried tears of both grief and anger. This broke the spell, and the woman saw the man she married change before her eyes into his true form: a snake. And then both were executed.”

“WHAT?!” Patton screamed, a mix of anger and sadness in his eyes. “Why did thy have to be killed? Why couldn’t the townsfolk hear them out first?”

“What about the children?” Logan asked.

It was getting harder and harder to tell this story, but Roman knew he had to finish what he started. “The children escaped, fleeing the town amidst the chaos. With no one to rely on but themselves, the two were forced into a life of lies, crime, and dark magic.”

Logan thought about the words Roman chose to convey in his story, his mind reeling at a particular part of the story. “You said that the second child was forever linked to the magic that came with the potion. Did you mean that the potion was under the dark arts?”

Roman nodded, glad he caught on so quickly. “Altering one’s appearance is no criminal’s magic. But to permanently alter it? Only spells under the dark arts can do that. There’s more to the story though.”

“There’s more?” Patton asked, eagerness in his voice.

“The older brother knew he had to protect his brother, so he learned everything he could. Of course, with his looks, and his history, no mentor or school was willing to take him in, so he had to learn everything on his own. Until he eventually grew up to become the most powerful dark wizard in the entire country. But he had a weakness.” He paused dramatically, his gaze in the distance of their dark living room. “His brother.”

“Virgil…” Logan surmised, realization on his face.

The knight nodded. “Virgil’s identity was only discovered recently. Deceit had done well hiding him, and preventing anyone from finding out who they really were.”  
“Virgil’s brother’s name is Deceit?” Patton inquired.

Roman had no particular explanation as to why that was his name, so he continued. “Unfortunately, Virgil was kidnapped, and was used to lure Deceit out. But the dark wizard was not going down without a fight. Fighting off the rest of the guards, he bought enough time for Virgil to escape and well… here we are.”

“Why are you helping him then?” Logan asked, still wary. “You’ve said so yourself, you’re the captain of the royal guard.”

“I accidentally stumbled into Virgil and Deceit’s hiding place while I was on a hunt. I was injured, and Virgil healed me, despite knowing who I was!” Roman explained with zeal, reminiscing how confused he felt at how kind the two brothers were being to him in time of need, despite knowing who he was. “I know… I don’t deserve him as a friend. Heck, he’s been more of a friend to me than my own guards! Which is why… I-I need to know if he’s alright. I need to talk to him.”

Patton’s heart melted at Roman’s passionate display of friendship. But Logan still wasn’t so convinced, and he knew that. “Fine.” Logan said suddenly. “We will let you pass; on the condition you drop all your weapons. All of it.”

Roman conceded, impressed that Logan knew he wasn’t just carrying a sword with him, setting aside his sword, and two daggers. “There. I have no more weapons. I’m not a threat anymore.” He said with his hands raised. “You can search me, if you so wish. Just please. Let me speak with him.” He pleaded. 

Logan actually still wanted to refuse, but he could sense the sincerity in Roman’s words. And as he stared at the man’s red eyes, he only saw desperation, someone that was willing to do anything if it meant finding Virgil. 

“Fine.” Logan acquiesced, stepping aside. “He’s on the couch.”

“Thank you.” Roman said as he stood up, and striding towards the sleeping figure. He gasped, a smile on his face as he saw Virgil sleeping with a peaceful expression on his face, and his breathing even. “Virgil…” He exclaimed like he couldn’t believe he was right in front of him. “Virgil! Wake up!” He gently shook him awake.

“Ugh… Five more minutes, Roman…” He murmured in his sleep, before his eyes opened in alert and he shot up from the couch, the warm blanket slowly falling from his legs and onto the floor. “Roman?”  
The knight nodded, his eyes watering, a smile on his face. “Yes, Virgil. It’s me…” 

“Roman!” Virgil cried out in joy, wrapping his arms around his best friend in a tight and warm embrace, tears dripping down the corner of his eyes. “This isn’t a dream, right? Oh, I thought I’d never see you again!”

“Hey, don’t steal my line, Sir Gloom.” He laughed out, wiping away Virgil’s tears. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you are alright.” He said, cupping each other’s faces in their hands.  
The sight itself sent an unfamiliar and unpleasant feeling within Logan. Although he tried to hide it, Patton noticed that Logan had a small frown as he continued watching the exchange going on between the two. Knowing why, Patton wanted to talk to Logan, but knew now was not a good time.

“How did you get here?” Virgil asked. “Why are you here? Ugh, I have so many questions!”

“Your brother.” 

The room stilled, as Virgil felt his throat dry up. “My brother?” He croaked out.

“Yes. Your brother is the reason why I am here.” Roman further explained Deceit’s plea to him, the plan to come after Virgil, using the lock of hair that his brother had given him. “I knew it was a great risk, but he and I both needed to know if you were… well, alive. And I guess, we didn’t really have to worry.” He said as he glanced at the two humans with a grateful look on his face. “And while I would love to hear all about how they’ve been treating you, I’m afraid there’s something else I must tell you.” He said as the tone of his voice suddenly dropped. 

A look of despair crossed Virgil’s face as he said that. “And that is?”

“Your brother—” He continued, but stopped, as there was no easy way to say it without hurting his best friend.

“Is he…” 

“No. He’s still alive and well.” He added, knowing what Virgil was initially thinking. “He’s covered in nullification chains, but other than that, he’s fine.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Virgil sighed in relief. “I thought you were going to say he was sentenced to death or something.”

Roman froze, slowly sliding his hands off of Virgil, biting his lips as if he was afraid of what he was about to say next. “Well…”

“Roman? What aren’t you telling me?” Virgil asked, an edge to his voice and his brows curled scrunched.

Sighing in defeat, Roman folded his hands neatly onto his lap and looked at his dear friend dead in the eye as he spoke. “The night I casted the dimensional spell, Talyn informed me that the High Council conducted a secret meeting to discuss Deceit’s fate.” The warlock said nothing, anxiously waiting for the knight to continue his story, as Patton and Logan stood by, also curious as to where this was leading. “The other members of the council obviously want him dead, but King Thomas was against it. To satisfy everyone, they agreed on holding a trial for Deceit. However, I think we both know it will be hard to convince the Council to spare Deceit’s life.”

“Are you saying…” It was Logan who spoke up, realizing what Roman was alluding to.

“Yes. If the Council will not be moved, then Deceit will get the death penalty.”

Virgil felt his stomach drop and his mouth and throat dry up. He stood up, stumbling in the process. Roman moved to help him. “Don’t touch me! I-I’m fine… I just need… air.” The other three were not sure what to do. Not even Patton, who was best with emotions. But he knew that the young boy needed space to process this. After all, it’s not everyday you get to hear your only family was about to go on an unjust and fixed trial. “You know, I should’ve expected this…” Virgil stammered out, hugging himself. “I mean, I suspected that he’d be dead by now. So, when I heard he was still alive, I was so happy…” He sniffed, wiping away a stray tear.

“Oh, Virgil…” Patton pitied him. His situation was already so complicated, how was the young boy supposed to deal with all of this? It was so unfair. His paternal instincts were screaming at him to run up to the boy and hug him, and shush him to sleep, but he knew in his heart that Virgil didn’t need that right now. “You can sleep in my room tonight, if you’d like.”

“Thank you, Patton.” He meant it, but knew he wouldn’t get much sleep tonight. And if he did, he knew there would be nothing but nightmares to fill his head. 

Logan knew a lot of things. And he knew this was unfair. He had faced a lot of corrupt officials in the past, and he knew the justice system in the medieval era was just as unjust, but this was on a whole ‘nother level. Deciding enough was enough, Logan walked up to the dejected Virgil and held him by the shoulders like he did so many times already. 

“Your brother doesn’t have to die.” He declared, determination in his eyes as he stared at Virgil’s purple star-like eyes, admiring how they still looked so dazzling even under the low light. 

“What?” Virgil asked.

“What?” Roman said at the same time.

“Your brother doesn’t have to die.” The teacher repeated. “If we can prove he is innocent of a few of the charges against him.”

The chef was beginning to think that his best friend was getting desperate to comfort his love interest. “Logan, I know your Mother is a great lawyer, and your Father is a great policeman, but you are not either of those things.”

“You’re right, I’m neither of those things.” Logan admitted. “But I’m assuming that neither of those occupations exist in your dimension?”

“I don’t even know what those occupations mean.” Roman said with a clueless expression on his face.

“Exactly! Which means we can testify at the very least. Based on what you’ve been telling us, Roman, the king is against sentencing Deceit to death, correct?”

“Yes.” Roman answered, suddenly standing straight and proud at the mention of their king. “King Thomas is a pacifist. He’s hoping to give him at the very least life imprisonment.”

“But that’s going to be impossible to do because most of the High Council members want my brother dead!” Virgil added, his voice rising with anger. 

“Then we make a convincing argument.” Logan immediately replied. “So convincing, that they won’t be able to counter it.”

“And how do you plan to do that?” Patton asked with a worried tone.

“Simple. I come with you to your dimension.”

Everyone’s eyes widened at Logan’s sudden declaration. “I’m sorry Sir Logan, but I think you’re overestimating yourself—”

“Scholars are allowed to testify, am I wrong?” Logan challenged.

“We-Well…” Roman stammered, intimidated by the bespectacled man’s sudden overflowing confidence. “Y-Yes, they are allowed, but what makes you think the Council will listen to you? You’re an outsider from another dimension! And since you’ve spent so much time with Virgil, and not Deceit, they’ll think you’re biased and overrule any of your arguments!”

The teacher smirked. “I’ve spent a lot of my youth countering and arguing with adults. Please, Sir Roman.” Logan’s voice suddenly turned soft. “Please believe me when I say I can help.”

Before Roman or Virgil could say anything, Patton interjected, stepping in front of Logan. “This is crazy! _You’re_ crazy!” He pointed at his best friend. “I understand where you’re coming from, Logan, but…” He turned to Virgil and Roman, the two winced at the hurt expression that was on Patton’s face. “Can’t you two just stay _here_ instead? It’s safer here… You don’t have to worry about people chasing you, and you get to be best friends without your statuses getting in the way!”

“Virgil, did you not tell them?” Roman whispered, though it still could be heard by the other two in the room. 

“Tell them what?” 

“You know… the rules?”

“What rules?” 

“Oh, my ever flobblegob!” Roman exclaimed, astonished that Virgil stayed so long in another dimension without knowing one of the fundamental rules. “Virgil, tell me honestly, how long have you been in this dimension?”

A thoughtful look crossed the warlock’s face. “Um, almost three weeks?”

“And have you experienced any weird dreams or weird events that oh, I don’t know, are conveying a message along the lines of ‘you don’t belong here’ or ‘go back to where you belong?’”

Virgil looked at his best friend with a cute and somewhat confused expression, before his eyes widened, as if he just had an epiphany. “Oh my fucking god…” Virgil murmured under his breath as he sank to his knees, a shadow over his face, Patton and Logan inching closer in concern. “How could I have been so _stupid?!_ ” He screamed as he tugged at his hair.

“V, you are not stupid.” Logan cut in, kneeling next to him. “I’ve told you many times before—”

“No, L!” The wizard said as he solemnly shook his head. “I royally messed up this time. I was so _stupid_ to forget one of the most important rules for this long!”

“What rule?” Patton asked, turning to Roman. “What are you two talking about?”

“There are an infinite number of dimensions, however each dimension is simply an alternate version of each other.” Roman began explaining. “If I exist in my dimension, then there is an alternate version of me in this dimension.”

“Wait…” Logan said, as if he too just had an epiphany. “The Valerie in your dimension, and the Valerie in my dimension. And the Thomas in my dimension, and the Thomas in yours...!” Logan wished he could have phrased that better, but at the moment, it’s what he thought, and it’s what he said out loud. “That means…”

“It means we cannot stay here.” Roman concluded, turning to Patton. “Whether you like it or not, Virgil and I have to go back to our world.”

“Falsehood.” 

All eyes turned to Logan, standing up as he faced Roman with a steely gaze. It was only now did Roman realize he was at least two inches shorter than Logan. Patton felt himself bite his fingers in worry. He knew his best friend would only use one of his favorite words when he was very serious about something. 

“W-What?” Roman stuttered out.

“Virgil and you don’t have to go back on your own.” He began. “Even if you manage to make a stand before the council, I doubt they will listen to any of your stories. And as for you, Roman, admitting you’ve been acquaintances with an enemy of the kingdom will do neither of you any good. If you’re lucky, you’d get exiled, if not beheaded before your own knights.” Roman swallowed hard at the very idea. 

“What are you saying, Logan?” Virgil asked.

“I’m saying I can help you! Let me speak before the court!” He declared, almost demanded, staring intently at Virgil. “Please, V. I want to help you. Let me help.”

Virgil wanted to say no, to be adamant about it. But the way Logan was looking at him and the way he spoke so determined, and so charismatic, it was driving him up against the wall. He should say no, he didn’t want to endanger Logan, or Patton. If he could, he would’ve asked Roman to stay behind as well and pretend that they never--

“Logan, you—”

“If Logan’s going, then I’m going too!” Patton suddenly added, standing by Logan’s side. 

“What?” Roman asked incredulously. “Sir Patton, excuse me if I sound rude, but having someone from another dimension come to ours is already dangerous enough—”

“Enough!” Virgil shouted, his eyes closed in frustration, clutching his head. The room was silent once again, as no one expected such an outburst from the usually quiet boy. “Look, I get where all of you are coming from. And I’m sorry, Roman, but Logan and Patton are right. If I’m going to go to court and face the High Council, I have a better chance of saving my brother from the guillotine if I’m not alone.” 

…

“Speak, Raymund Smithson.” King Thomas spoke loud and clear in his ivory-walled courtroom.

A man in his late twenties with ragged green tunic and dirty brown trousers and matching brown boots stood before the king. His black hair cut messily, and his brown eyes showed hidden anger. “Your majesty, I am one of Deceit’s many victims. Not only did he steal food from my stall, but he also mercilessly killed my younger brother!”

The audience murmured in disapproval, glaring eyes directed towards the dark arts wizard standing on the right, his ankles and wrists tied with nullification chains. While the wizard in question ignored the insignificant people in the back as he stared at the so-called ‘witness.’ He remembered this man. He indeed stole food from their stall, but he stole food from him because the Smithson brothers were known to harass or ignore people that were of lower-class despite being low-class citizens themselves. 

Not only that, Virgil was with him at that time. The Smithsons chased them, until the younger brother, Raynald, caught Virgil by the arm and threatened to cut off his arm. He remembered how Virgil screamed out in pain as Raynald twisted his arm, and the red Deceit saw as he ran up to them, and promptly cut off the vile man’s arm. 

“What say you, Deceit?” King Thomas asked, as all eyes turned to him.

“Your majesty…” Deceit began, putting on his signature charming smile. “I do not deny stealing from Raymund and Raynald Smithson’s food stall.” This caused some members of the council to smile, and Raymund to smirk. “However, I must add that I did not kill Raynald Smithson.”

The older brother stood up, his eyes red in anger and his fists clenched at his side. “How dare—”

“Silence!” Thomas ordered. “Why do you say that, Deceit?”

“While I admit to cutting his arm off—” This caused the crowd to stir uncomfortably. “—I must clarify that Raynald Smithson died of the infected wound. Had they been quicker, then he could’ve been saved. There are plenty of cases of knights and guards losing a limb, yet as long as it is treated right away, then they live.” He then turned to one of the High Council members, who wore a green robe with a white trim. “Isn’t that right, Sir Philipson?” He asked with a toothy smile.

The council member in question froze, unsure of what to say. He didn’t want to support anything that came out of the criminal’s mouth, but as a physician, he knew he was right. “Y-Yes.” He admitted rather dejectedly. “Raynald Smithson could have been saved, had he been treated sooner…” 

This caused the crowd to stir uneasily again, as Deceit smirked back at the supposed witness. 

Thomas raised his fist in the air, causing everyone to quiet down. “This is a trial to decide the accused—Deceit’s—fate. Whether he should be spared or executed.”

Just then, everyone heard a distant crack of thunder in the room. A few paused to listen carefully, a few wondered if they were just hearing things, while others didn’t hear it. Until everyone in the room heard it again, this time louder. 

“That’s strange.” Joan commented. “There weren’t any signs of a storm this morning.”

Valerie shook her head, her eyes wide in wonder. “That wasn’t a storm.”

Before anyone knew it, a green vortex started slowly forming in the middle of the courtroom’s ceiling. The people in the room panicked, scrambling up from their seats and to the doors.

“Everyone, calm down!” Valerie commanded. “That is not a threat.”

As she finished her sentence, four figures came striding out of the vortex. The big three plus the council members gasped. Before them, stood Deceit’s younger brother Virgil, and Captain Roman of the Royal Guard, along with two unknown men with similar glasses. 

Roman walked a few steps closer, before he kneeled before his king. “Your majesty.”

Thomas looked at each and everyone of the newcomers before settling his gaze on his most talented knight. “Captain Roman, what is the meaning of this?”

“Your majesty, I kneel before you, and the High Council, to defend the accused, the dark arts wizard Deceit, and his brother, Virgil!” Roman declared proudly.

The citizens of the kingdom gasped in shock and awe, that their beloved knight, the ‘People’s Champion,’ would suddenly defend the most wanted criminal in the kingdom. Even Roman’s fellow guards, who stood by the doors and by the elite, looked at each other, utterly confused at the turn of events. 

“Maybe he was brainwashed?” One knight whispered.

“That’s got to be it!” A citizen said loudly. “Why else would the captain be with those scoundrels?”

“How dare you brainwash our champion?!” One woman cried out; her anger directed at Virgil.

Panic was slowly building up in Virgil as he uneasily looked around the angry mob of citizens. He remembered a few of them. There was the local baker, the florist, and many more furious residents. Joan knew that if no one stood up and silenced the crowd, then they might as well have a riot in the courtroom. Sharing a glance with Thomas and Valerie, Thomas stood up and banged his fists against the table.

The people slowly turned quiet again, awaiting their king’s demand. “In light of these… confusing events, I have decided to hear these four out.”

“Your majesty!” A few members of the High Council shouted as they stood up. “Are you really going to listen to a petty wizard, a traitorous knight and two strangers, rather than your own people?”

“Those two are more than just strangers.” Valerie added, staring at the said strangers. “They are from another dimension.”

“Another dimension? But then that would mean—”

“ENOUGH!” Thomas bellowed, his face scrunched up in annoyance, having to silence his courtroom so many times already. “Captain Roman, while I have reason to believe you’ve been colluding with the enemy, I wish to hear your side of the story.” 

And so Roman did. He told them Deceit and Virgil’s story. From how they were forced into a life of crime, had precarious lifestyles, and truth behind their many misdeeds. Virgil also confessed to a few crimes that were unsolved for many years due to a lack of evidence. Patton and Logan would jump in whenever someone would try to accuse them of lying or bias. Apparently, Logan was very good at rebuttals, and Patton was very good at providing facts about emotions playing into the case.

“I rest my case.” Roman finished, and no one had anything else to say, as they knew it would get shut down by Logan. The High Council were sweating as they shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. Joan, Valerie, and even Deceit smiled at the four proudly. 

“I think we’ve all heard enough.” Thomas said, looking at Deceit. “In light of recent events, we shall now proceed to the voting.” 

A simple red box was presented to the High Council and the big three, until everyone had casted their votes, and everyone in the audience waited anxiously for the results. Valerie was the one who would count the votes in secret, since it was part of her vows as the High Priestess to remain neutral regardless of her alliances. All eyes turned to her as she reappeared into the stand, clutching the red box. 

“The votes have been casted, and have been counted.” She proclaimed. “Deceit. You have confessed to a number of crimes against the kingdom and our king. However, in light of recent events, you have been proved innocent in a few of them. As such, I am here to announce that the High Council of the Sanders Kingdom’s votes have ended…” She paused, staring at Roman with an unreadable expression. 

“…In a tie.”

“WHAT?”

“This is an outrage!”

“This cannot be!”

“Who voted to spare him?!”

“My king.” Valerie said as she turned to him. “According to the laws of our kingdom, should the votes end in a tie, the decision will fall onto you.”

Thomas tapped his fingers against the armrest of his throne, as he thought about it carefully. In the end though, he knew, empathy is not a blindfold. It’s our ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Sometimes, what seems right might also seem difficult, but he knew he needed to listen to his empathy to spare himself from future guilt. 

Standing up, Thomas stood with his back straight, looking down at Roman, Deceit, Virgil and everyone else. “With the votes ending in a draw, and in light of recent events, as the King of Sanders Kingdom, it my duty to uphold the laws, in order to bring peace and prosperity to my Kingdom. However, if I want a kingdom filled with peace and empathy, I know I need to set an example for my citizens. As such, I have decided… Captain Roman will be stripped of his title.” Roman nodded, as if not upset by this at all. “The young Virgil will be sent to a correctional school, and Deceit will be sentenced to life imprisonment.” 

The people buzzed, some with doubt, some with confusion, but overall, they understood where the king was coming from. 

“Virgil, we did it!” Roman cheered as he tackled his best friend, who was in disbelief.

“We-We did it?” He repeated.

“Yes, we did.” Logan reaffirmed, smiling proudly. “You did great, V.”

“Yup! We knew you had it in ya, kiddo!” Patton said as he patted him on the back. “Here’s a Patton on the back! Get it? ‘Patton’ on the back? Because it was a ‘pat’ on the back?”

“Stormcloud…” 

Virgil’s three friends stepped back, as they knew Virgil needed to talk with his brother. “Brother…” 

Deceit reached out and pulled his younger brother into a tight embrace. V instantly returned the hug and it was in that moment, he couldn’t be happier. “I’m so proud of you.” He said, holding back his tears. “Thank you for coming back.”

“Of course, I would.” Virgil replied, burying his face into his brother’s shoulder. 

Roman, Patton and Logan, including the High Council watched with a mix of sympathy, happiness and disgust. 

However, Raymund Smithson was in outrage. How could his own king—no, his own kingdom—betray him like this? Not only were they letting his brother’s murderer live, but they reunited him with his own younger brother! All he wanted was justice. That’s why he volunteered to stand before the Council and speak against Deceit. But no, the captain of the Royal Guard and two men from another freaking dimension had to step in and defend the two most wanted criminals in the land! And despite them admitting to their crimes, they still get off with their heads on their bodies!

This was unfair. This was injustice! How could they let this happen? How could he let this happen? No… There was only one way for him to get the justice he sought after. His Father always did say, if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself!

With nothing but rage, hurt and adrenaline pumping through his veins, Raymund took out the dagger he had tied to his belt, and sprinted up to Virgil.

“Virgil, look out!” Roman screamed.

It was too late; he was too close. Virgil saw Raymund’s bleary red eyes, tear-stained cheeks, teeth clenched in anger, and the shining silver dagger raised high above his head before he heard it plunge into his flesh.

“LET’S SEE HOW YOU LIKE LOSING YOUR YOUNGER BROTHER!!!”

Virgil expected pain, explosive pain. But he felt nothing. He closed his eyes in anticipation, but still, he felt nothing. No sharp stab, no cold metal buried deep into his skin.

Nothing.

Until he felt blood bleed out into his hand. It was then realized though, that the blood was not his. Just then, a woman’s scream broke out into the crowd, as Deceit’s body slowly was beginning to lax. 

“B-Brother...?” Virgil stuttered, turning his face too look at Deceit. 

The half-snake gazed back at his adorable younger brother with the most serene smile and eyes he had ever seen. Slowly cupping his brother’s face with his yellow gloved hand, Deceit spoke softly to his only family, barely above a whisper.

“Virgil…” He said, grazing his hand across the pale cheek. “I love you.” 

And with those final words, Deceit’s eyelids fluttered closed, and his body went limp in Virgil’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am VERY VERY VERY sorry for updating so late! As compensation, I've made a really long chapter! Also, not sure if anyone's noticed, but this chapter's title, is kind of a foreshadowing of this chapter's ending. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and look forward to this story's ending! Also, I'm not very familiar with courtroom laws, or how courtrooms worked back then, but I read as much as I could, so sorry for any historical inaccuracy. I will do my best to post the last chapter either by this weekend or next weekend. Thank you for reading :)


	12. I Mean, Yeah, You Cracked Under Pressure, But Nobody's Perfect!

“Arrest him!” Thomas barked.

Six royal guards immediately surrounded Raymund Smithson and pinned him to the ground, cuffing him as the man struggled. “That bastard deserved it!” He yelled out, as he struggled against his restraints with his blood-soaked hands. “That bastard fucking deserved it!”

“B-Brother…” Virgil mumbled as his knees gave out under him, still holding Deceit’s body in his arms. “No, no, no, no, NO!!!” He screamed as tears streamed down his face. “WAKE UP, BROTHER! You promised me you wouldn’t leave me… You promised you’d stay by my side. Even when you told me to run, and I escaped, I still came back for you! Please… don’t leave me!” 

Logan, Patton and Roman were at a loss for words. None of them expected this to happen. They were hoping to save Virgil’s older brother Deceit from the death penalty, and while they did succeed in doing that, in the end, they still lost Deceit. Not to an executioner, a pyre, or the water, but to an enraged man seeking revenge. What was worse, was the fact that Deceit died protecting Virgil from a blade that was meant for him. 

They could only imagine what the young warlock was going through.

“Virgil?” Patton said, as he took a step closer. “Are you—”

“Don’t.” He whispered. 

“What was that?” Patton asked.

 _“Don’t fucking touch me._ ” Virgil declared, suddenly speaking in three menacing voices, as a dark purple glow slowly started to manifest itself around the boy.

“Ha!” Smithson laughed out. “Looks like you’re finally showing your true colors, warlock! Quite literally.”

Virgil’s grip around his brother tightened, as he realized something. This was all his fault. If only he wasn’t born, Deceit could’ve been spared the responsibility of looking after him, even after they ran away from their birth village. It was because of him Deceit had done so many crimes. It was because of him Deceit stole and murdered so many. It was because of his naivety that led to his capture, and eventually his brother’s capture. It was because of him his brother had to go to trial, and finally… it was because of him that his brother died. 

_Everything was my fault._

And then, something in Virgil _snapped._

“Oh no.” Valerie said as she gasped. “Everyone, get down!”

Suddenly, Virgil let out a horrendous scream, as the purple glow that surrounded him just seconds ago engulfed the entire courtroom, turning the crisp white walls to a depressing mauve shade. The people in the room collapsed onto their knees, as they all cried out in sorrow. The king and the High Council were not spared, as they too, fell to their knees, tears slowly dripping down their faces.

“Valerie…” Joan groaned, as he struggled to lift himself up, feeling as if his own severe depression was awakened. “What is happening?”

“There’s no specific name for it.” She replied, albeit quite in a gloomy manner. “But with Deceit’s death, Virgil has lost control of his emotions, and by extension, his powers. With such an outburst of despair, it has spread to everyone, and if we don’t stop it soon…”

“The entire kingdom will be consumed by it.” Thomas concluded, a deep frown on his face. 

Roman and Logan heard everything. While Logan was having a hard time thinking straight, Roman immediately thought of a way to stop it. “Sir Logan…” He groaned, struggling to sit up. “You must talk to Virgil.”

“Me?” Logan questioned, quite lazily. “Why me? What could I possibly do?”

“Oh, come on. I see the way you two look at each other.” If it wasn’t for the depressing way he said that, he would’ve sounded confident and almost teasing. 

“But you’re his best friend.” He pointed out.

“And you’re the one he’s in love with.” Roman fired back. “Plus, you’re the only one who isn’t sitting on the floor like a man who is hopelessly in love with someone who doesn’t love them back.”

As Patton fell on all fours, a thought came to him. “I never thought I’d say this, but Logan, I think your logical brain and your emotionless mindset is actually useful in this situation.”

“Are you referring to the fact that it seems I’m not as affected by Virgil’s emotional outburst than everyone else?” He asked, adjusting his glasses with a solemn face. “Because if you are, then I don’t know whether to be insulted or thankful.”

“Emotional outburst is a little harsh…” Joan commented. “But otherwise, I think we can call it that.”

“Oh my god, would you please just do it already!” Thomas cried out. “Ugh, I’m a terrible king. Can’t even save my own kingdom…”

“Noooo…” Joan moaned out. “Don’t say that, Thomas. If anything, I’m the terrible advisor.”

While the king and advisor continued to argue who was worse at their job, Logan slowly approached Virgil. The warlock had his back to him, but Logan knew better than to reach out and touch him. Deciding a calm approach was the better option, the professor got down on one knee and observed him for a few seconds.

“Virgil.” He softly called out to him. 

Said boy whipped his head around to face him. Logan felt something inside him break once he saw Virgil’s eyes had turned to an inky black color, along with his tears. But Logan would not let surprise or fear show on his face.

“Logan…” Virgil whimpered out. “What do I do? What _can_ I do? Deceit is gone. GONE! How am I supposed to…” He paused; his lips pursed as if he was having a hard time speaking. “What am I supposed to…”

Cautiously, Logan placed his index finger just barely above Virgil’s lips, almost touching him. “While I am not the best with emotions, I know no amount of condolences or apologies will _ever_ be enough to take away your pain. The death of a loved one, is something no one can just move on from, especially if it just happened. But I know there’s one thing you can do. And that’s embrace it. Let yourself feel all the sadness. Accept it.”

“Wait, what?!” Roman quickly asked.

“Uhhh… Logan?” Patton joined in. “I don’t think you’re saying that right.”

“I’m not telling you to accept everything right away.” Logan quickly clarified. “What I’m telling you is that it’s ok to feel hurt, angry and upset. Because that’s what losing a loved one does to you.”

Virgil sniffed as he absorbed Logan’s words, wiping away a few stray tears. “But I—we came here to save him. And he died! He died because of _me_ , Logan! How am I supposed to live with that? To know that the person I cared about most in the world, and sacrificed so much for me—is now DEAD!” At the emphasis of dead, another wave of sadness hit the crowd, forcing almost everyone in the room onto their bellies or sides.

Somehow, a small smile found its way onto Logan’s lips, as he leaned in closer. “Tell me, V. What was the last thing Deceit told you?”

The question caught Virgil off guard. “He-He said he loves me…”

“And what was his facial expression?” 

“He looked—” Virgil reminisced the short memory, another black tear rolling down his face. “—peaceful.”

“I think Deceit had such an expression on his face because he knew he saved you.” Without really thinking about it, Logan’s hand found its way onto Virgil’s cheek, and the wizard didn’t remove it or even react to it. “He did not regret his actions. He was happy, because the person he loved most in all of the infinite dimensions in the universe, is still alive. And all those sacrifices you talked about? I don’t think he ever saw them as sacrifices. He did it because he loved you. He did it out of love. And to quote from one of Patton’s movies: ‘Some people are worth melting for.’”

“That’s from Frozen,” Virgil added, cupping Logan’s hand that was still on his cheek.

Logan chuckled, “you should’ve seen Patton when he first saw that movie. He was a wreck for an entire month and kept singing ‘For The First Time In Forever’ non-stop.”

“I regret nothing!” Patton exclaimed. “That’s not true… I actually have a lot of regrets. I just say I don’t so often because it’s easier that way.” 

“Hey, Patton.” Roman called out to him as he gestured to their eyes. “…Eyeshadow buddies.”

Virgil didn’t let up though, he still wasn’t finished. “But why? Why did he have to die? Why am _I_ still alive? What did I do deserve this? I could’ve stepped in, I could’ve stopped Smithson with one of my spells, or maybe even—”

“Everyone has regrets. Things we wish we should’ve done, and things we wish we shouldn’t have done. But think about it this way, V.” Logan said as he placed his other hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “Your brother has done so much for you, so that you could live. He loved you so much, that he was willing to risk his life twice for you. And losing him, is a big loss. But if you were in his position, wouldn’t you do the same? Wouldn’t you risk your life, so that Deceit could live?”

V’s mouth was hanging ajar, as if he was just struck with something that had been sitting right in front of him. “Of course, I would.” He answered without hesitating.

“Exactly. He’d want you to live. So live, V. Live for him.” 

By the time Logan had finished, V had lept into Logan’s arms and cried his heart out, because he realized Logan was right. All those ‘sacrifices’ that Deceit had done for him. It was out of love, not out of a sense of duty or obligation. His brother did everything out of love. He could not let all that go up in flames. 

“Logan?”

“Hm?” Logan said, as he gently stroked his hair.

“Can you… help me with that breathing exercise again?” He asked, rather bashfully. “I-I’ve memorized it by now, but with you—I just… It helps and it’s faster but—”

“Of course, I’ll help you.” Logan answered with a warm smile. “Just follow my lead. Breathe in for four seconds, now hold your breath in for seven seconds, and now exhale slowly for eight seconds.” Virgil followed along. “Good, you’re doing great, V. Now, once again.”

As Virgil and Logan continued, the courtroom slowly began to fade back into its original ivory white, and the people inside were slowly returning to their normal selves. By the time everyone in the room was back to normal, Virgil’s tears returned to normal as well, as well as his eyes. 

King Thomas, Joan, Valerie, Roman, and Patton all gazed at the couple with satisfied smiles.

“This is an outrage!” One of the elders of the High Council screeched as he stomped towards the king. “Your majesty! I implore you, arrest these four scoundrels at once!”

Thomas raised an eyebrow at the old man. “And why would I do that?”

The elder shot his hands in the air out of exasperation. “Because not only have they disrupted the sanctity of the courtroom, but casted that… ‘emotional outburst’ on all of us!”

Valerie was trying her best not to roll her eyes. “You say that, but no one was hurt—well, save for Deceit—and there was no physical damage to the courtroom, am I wrong?”

“N-No, but—”

“Then I don’t see any reason as to why these four should be arrested. However…” Her eyes turned to Virgil, who by now had his arms wrapped around Logan even as the pair stood up. “While you will not get life imprisonment, you are still an accomplice to Deceit’s crimes, and have caused a lot of emotional hysteria today. Which is why instead of a correctional facility for troubled magic-casters, I think it would be best if you are sent under the supervision of someone who has experience handling your level of magic.”

Virgil was a little grateful Valerie didn’t say ‘your kind of magic’ as many others did. 

“A wise decision, Valerie.” Joan complimented. “What do you say, your majesty?” 

“I concur. Very well. But who will do it?”

“I believe, Talyn and I can handle it.”

“WHAT?” The elder council member shrieked out. “Lady Valerie, you can’t be serious! You’re willing to take a criminal’s brother under your wing? And into the Holy Temple?!”

“He could corrupt our most sacred buildings!” Another council member added.

“Au contraire.” Valerie said, a smug smile on her face. “I believe taking Virgil under my wing will help him learn to control his powers and learn new light arts spells. With his level of magic, I doubt it will be that hard. Isn’t that right, Talyn?”

Suddenly the crowd parted as Talyn walked out, and stood before them. Roman gasped, not even knowing Talyn was in the courtroom all this time. The colorful-haired tailor looked at High Council with a steely gaze.

“My lords, as you all know, my family has dealt with dark arts wizards before, as there are a few of them in my family tree.” Joan felt a swell of pride inside of them, as they watched their usually-timid partner speak so confidently in front of so many people. “With Lady Valerie’s help, I believe we can monitor Virgil’s actions to prevent him from doing any sort of crime against the kingdom and lead him onto the right path.”

Smiling, Thomas faced forward, as he heard some of the council members grunt in frustration. “Are there any further objections?” He asked out loud, which was met with not just the silence of the council, but the silence of the entire courtroom. “Then it is settled!”

…

After everyone in the audience left the room, as well the grumpy and upset council members, Valerie walked up to the four men. “I don’t know if you four know this, but you two cannot stay here.” 

“We know, My Lady.” Patton replied with a polite smile. “If you could give us a moment to say our goodbyes though?” He asked, almost in a pleading manner. “And by the way, I gotta say, loooovee your dress! Is it silk?”

Valerie chuckled and smiled warmly at Patton. “Thank you. It is silk.”

“A charmer, isn’t he?” Roman said as he appeared beside them. The real reason he joined them was because he knew Virgil and Logan needed their space to talk to each other.

“I wish I could stay longer.” Logan said as held Virgil’s hands in his. “For once, I wish the universe wasn’t so pragmatic and complicated.”

Virgil nodded, a sad smile on his face. “I would have loved to show you around my world. To see the schools, and show you some more spells… And if I took you to the hilltop, you’d see the most beautiful stars.”

It broke Valerie’s heart to have to bring Logan back to his world, but she knew order had to be maintained. The poor Virgil had gone through so much, and she hated that she had to separate him from the man he was obviously in love with, and the one that had basically saved her kingdom. If she wasn’t so fearful of the consequences that would occur if Logan and Patton stayed too long, she would’ve thrown a feast in their honor for saving the kingdom. A feast that would no doubt please Thomas and Joan, but irritate the High Council members to no end. 

“Can’t they stay for a few days?” Talyn asked, noticing Valerie’s gaze at the couple. “Roman said Virgil stayed for three weeks in their world.”

Valerie shook her head. “As much as I would love to, I cannot allow that. Virgil may have lasted more than a fortnight there, but there were consequences, were there not? If Logan and Patton stayed here, I can only imagine what would happen to them.”

“Lady Valerie?” Logan called out. “We’re ready.” He said, tightly gripping onto Virgil’s hand.

“Very well.” Turning to the wall to their left, Valerie casted the interdimensional spell and just like before, thunder and lightning rumbled, a bit distant, before a green vortex appeared. 

“See you, Sir Roman.” Patton said as he hugged the former captain.

“I think it’s just Roman now.” Roman replied. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Goodbye, V.” Logan said, slowly letting go of his hand and stepping away from him. 

“Bye, kiddo!” Patton said before stepping close to the portal. “Your Happy Pappy Patton will really miss ya.” 

“I’ll miss you too, Popstar.” 

Patton gasped in disbelief. “You gave me a dad-themed nickname!” 

Rolling his eyes, Logan took Patton by the shoulder. “Ok, let’s go before it gets too hard for you to leave.”

“Logan!” V yelled.

Turning around, the professor’s eyes widened as Virgil grabbed his shoulders and softly placed his lips on his. 

A number of things happened after that. Patton squealed and jumped up and down. Roman was biting his lips, trying hard not to squeal along with Patton. While Valerie and Talyn felt like their hearts were melting out of joy. And for Logan?

Well, we can say his brain was short-circuiting, not sure what to do next, so he did what his gut what telling to do. Kiss back and wrap his arms around Virgil. 

The pair weren’t sure how long they stood there kissing, but they broke it as soon as they needed air again. The warlock’s cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment, surprised at himself for kissing Logan in front of so many people. But at the same time, he didn’t regret it. Because he knew that if he didn’t do it now, he would’ve rued this day forever. And he refused to add another regret to his list of regrets. 

“Virgil…” Logan said, too flustered, his own cheeks blushing pink.

“I love you, Logan.” V declared to him. 

And for once, the cold and logical teacher felt his heart melt. Cupping V’s face again, he kissed his lips one more time, as he pressed their foreheads together. “I love you too.”  
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It had been a little over a year now, since Logan and Patton returned to their nonmagical world. While Logan acted like a forlorn boy for the first few weeks, Patton had helped him recover for the most part, reminding him that Virgil would not like Logan acting like this. Even though the chef himself would say how much he missed Virgil and Roman, despite knowing Roman for only a short time. 

Today was the special ‘Help Prevent Light Pollution’ event, that Logan had been working on for months, since this would help his research and even boost his reputation even further. As an added bonus, scientists from NASA were invited to the said event. Patton of course decided to come to support his best friend. What Patton didn’t tell Logan, was that he casually told his socialite friends about the event, doubling the number of important people coming.

“You got this, Logan!” Patton encouraged as the two got out of the car and strolled up to the university’s auditorium. 

Logan exhaled loudly, trying to shake the nervousness out of his system. “Yes… I do. I got this. I’ve spoken before thousands of people before. It’s just… these people are among NASA’s elite! And I’ll have to socialize with them at the afterparty! You know I’m terrible at that!”

Before Patton could speak, someone ran into Logan. Not enough to knock him over, but enough to make the two stumble.

“I’m sorry!” The man apologized, panic all over his face.

Patton and Logan stared at the man in shock. 

The man looked exactly like Virgil. Brown hair with purple highlights, pale skin, and dark circles under his eyes. He even dressed like how Virgil would if he grew up in the modern world, a dark purple hoodie with black and white stitching pattern, black jeans and black and white converse shoes. The biggest difference between the two, was that this person had bright brown eyes, yet for some reason, those eyes still looked like stars to Logan. 

“Virgil!” Another man’s voice called out in the distance. “Why the rush? I told you to wait for us.”

Logan and Patton did a double take. Approaching them, was a man that looked exactly like Roman. Brown hair neatly combed, dark brown eyes, tan skin, and wore a formal red and white suit. He walked up to them with a confident stride, eyeing the two with suspicion, as if he was expecting them to yell at the Virgil lookalike. 

Behind the Roman lookalike, Valerie smiled at Logan and Patton. She wore an elegant, long-sleeved dress that reached just above her knees, with matching white heels. 

“Logan! Patton!” Valerie greeted the two with a hug. “Let me introduce you to my former student, Roman Prince. He’s now a Broadway star and even has callbacks for a few upcoming Hollywood movies!”

Roman Prince bowed dramatically, just like how the other Roman would bow. “At your service, gentlemen.”

While Patton was still having a hard time digesting this new information, openly staring at the Broadway star Roman, Logan turned his attention to the Virgil lookalike, who was still slouching, almost cowering behind Valerie and Roman. 

“And he is?” Logan asked.

“Ah, this is Talyn’s former student actually. Virgil Storm.” She informed them, lightly pushing said person forward, to face Logan. “He may be a ball of anxiety and sass, but let me tell you, he graduated cum laude, and took a double major in sound design and technology, and fashion design!” 

“Stop it…” Virgil groaned, wanting to cover his face with his hoodie. 

“I see.” Logan said, a small smile on his face. “Taking a double major is not easy. I should know, I’ve been there. It can really stress a person out.” Virgil looked up at him, surprised that someone seemed to be sympathizing—or rather—relating with him. “I admire people who work hard and strive for success academically.” 

Roman raised an eyebrow upon seeing how intently Logan was staring at his best friend. He wasn’t sure what to make of the man that was giving off an ‘I’m the cold-hard logic type of guy.’ On the other hand, the guy in a beige suite standing beside was quite the cutie. It didn’t help that both of them were openly staring at each other. 

“We’re all going to come your “Save the Stars” event.” Valerie continued. “Well, Roman and I, to be more specific. Virgil is part of the tech team.”

“That’s why I was running because I was gonna be late.” He remarked bitterly, staring down at the floor. 

“Well, I think you’re gonna be late anyways, son!” Patton added. 

“Son?”

“He thinks of everyone as his child.” Logan explained, experiencing a strange sense of déjà vu. “Even me. And I’m the same age as him.”

“Well, all of us are gonna be late if we don’t get going now, aren’t we?” Roman said. 

“See you later then!” Valerie cheerfully said as she walked away with the two. 

“Hope to see you again!” Patton added. 

Patton and Logan stared at their backs as the trio continued walking towards the auditorium. Unaware that the three were having a juicy debate of their own.

“Did you see the way that Logan guy was looking at you?” Roman asked with a smirk directed at Virgil. “I think he has the hots for you.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, yet couldn’t stop the blush that appeared on his cheeks. “He does not have the ‘hots’ for me.” He air-quoted. “Who even says that anymore? And besides, someone that good-looking would never be interested in someone like me.”

“Au contraire, Virgil.” Valerie interjected, with a playful grin. “That was the first time I saw Logan look at someone like that. And that guy is known for being aromantic.”

The man clad in purple and black groaned again. “I just… don’t wanna get my hopes up, ok? And enough about me, let’s talk about how that Patton guy and you were having some sort of staring contest.”

“Oh, honey please. I would LOVE to talk about that!”

Meanwhile, Patton shuffled his feet just as Logan was about to enter the auditorium. Logan knew whenever Patton got like this, it meant something was bothering him, and that it would continue to bother him until either of them addressed it. 

“Patton, what’s wrong?” 

“Um, well, I wanted to bring this up after we got home, but…” He looked in the distance, seeing Roman and Valerie among the crowd of well-dressed people. “This might sound ridiculous to you, but do you think, seeing a Roman and Virgil from our world, the universe is sending us a sign?”

If he was still the same Logan from a year ago that didn’t believe in any type of magic—be it for performance’s sake or ‘the magic of love and friendship’—he would’ve quickly dismissed this and remind Patton that the world may be filled with mysteries that science had yet to explain, there was no such thing as destiny or magic. 

But seeing those three all together in his university, Patton may be right. “You know what, Patton? You may not be so wrong.” Hope sparkled in the chef’s eyes. “What I can tell you for certain, is that there is hope for us yet.”

…

Virgil sat by his bedroom window, admiring the stars that shone and sparkled so brightly. It’s been almost three months since Deceit’s trial, and currently residing with Valerie in her mansion. The masses have dubbed it The Trial of Deceit and Despair. A dramatic title that Roman had took credit for coming up with. The old Virgil would’ve have strangled his best friend for calling him despair, but he was just grateful that his best friend was still alive and well. With his title stripped from him, Roman didn’t want to work within the kingdom because his reputation had basically been tarnished and he was now known as the ‘traitor’ of the people. 

He knew it broke Roman’s heart to know that the people he once protected and loved had now turned against him. It reminded him of a quote that he read from one of Logan’s books. “Do a good deed, and no one remembers it. Do a bad deed, and everyone remembers it.’ It seemed very applicable to the former captain’s situation. Almost everyone had forgotten every good deed he did for the kingdom and the people, and only remember him as ‘Deceit’s secret ally.’

The last he heard of his best friend, was a letter from a week ago telling him that he was going out of the kingdom after he received an invitation from a noble family from a far away kingdom. Roman refused to give out details on this mysterious noble family from far away, since he didn’t want to worry anyone, but he promised that he would come back. 

“Virgil?” 

Turning to the doorway, he saw Valerie standing there with a knowing smile on her face. “Yes, Lady Valerie?”

“Someone is here to see you.” Was all she said, as she stepped aside.

Striding into the room was a man in a sky-blue uniform with a white trim. A silver belt tied around his waist that held a familiar sword with a red sheath. His bangs were longer than he last saw him, but he couldn’t mistake those fierce red eyes.

“Roman!” Virgil exclaimed as he jumped into his best friend’s arms. “You dummy! We were so worried about you!”

“I apologize.” He said, despite chuckling. “I wanted to tell you in person. I got hired as the personal bodyguard of a very important person!”

Skepticism showed on Virgil’s face. “What very important person?”

“Hi!”

Virgil almost flinched when he saw a tall and muscular man suddenly appear beside Roman. This man wore a grey coat over a blue velvet tunic and gray trousers with very clean and shiny boots. One look would be enough to tell you this man was a nobleman. What surprised Virgil even more, was that this man looked very much like a fancy but old-fashioned version of Patton with bright baby blue eyes and dark blonde hair.

“You are…?”

“Sir Patton Hart-Wol of the Hart-Wol Noble Family, at your service!” He greeted with a toothy grin. “You must be Virgil! Roman talks about you a lot!”

“Heir to the Hart-Wol family fortune and business!” Roman teasingly added with a wink.

“Roman… you know I don’t like to brag about that.” Patton said as shied away from them.

It was now only dawning on him on just who he was talking to. This was that very important person that Roman was talking about. The Hart-Wol Family is one of the current ruling family of the Werewolf kingdom. The Harts and Wols were the two most powerful families since the beginning, always at each other’s throats. When the heirs of each family were found to harbor feelings for each other, they decided it was time to finally end their long feud. By law, the eldest child would succeed as the next leader, and Virgil knew by the stories and gossip floating around, that it was Patton, the person standing right in front of him.

He suddenly felt ashamed for dressing so shabbily in front of someone so important and influential. 

“I-It’s nice to meet you, Sir Hart-Wol.” Virgil wanted to smack himself for stuttering.

“Please, call me Patton. Sir Hart-Wol is my father.” 

Virgil smiled at the sense of déjà vu. “You have my thanks for giving my dramatic friend here a job.”

“Oh yes, he’s told me a lot of his stories!”

“Ahem.” A different but familiar voice announced his presence. He was so quiet that Virgil didn’t even see him because he was shrouded in the shadows.

The moment Virgil saw the newcomer’s face, he felt his chest warm up and his breathing stop. 

Even the man’s footsteps were so quiet that he barely heard them. The man had pale skin, jet black hair neatly swept to the side, black glasses similar to Patton’s, and dark blue eyes that almost looked black if you didn’t look closely. He wore a dark blue jacket decorated in minimalistic designs, and black trousers with shiny boots, under his long black cloak, he almost looked like an assassin. 

“Ah yes…” Roman said, almost sarcastically, clearing his throat. “Introducing, Professor Logan Roberts, of the Vampire kingdom.” 

By this point, Virgil’s jaw almost hit the floor. The Vampire Kingdom was one of the secretive and secluded kingdoms because the country was known as one of the most dangerous kingdoms in all of the land. The fact that a vampire was standing before him, in a human kingdom, and in the High Priestess’ home, was beyond astonishing. 

Not only that, this Logan was just as handsome as the other Logan!

“You must be Virgil.” Even his voice was just like Logan’s. “I’ve heard a great deal about you. Your magic capabilities, your strong will, and your expansive knowledge on a number of mysterious and dangerous spells. And if there’s one thing my kingdom values, it’s those that are not afraid to break boundaries and discover more than meets the eye.”

_My god, he even talks like Logan!_

“And you say Roman is the dramatic one!” Patton chided as he slung his arm around the prince’s shoulders.

Virgil momentarily panicked, as vampires, especially noble vampires, were known to hate being touched. It was why it was believed Vampires were so emotionally cold and distant. People grew so fearful of them, so in turn, vampires grew cold towards everyone, including their own kind.

But this Logan seemed to not mind having another species touch him. In fact, the only sign of discomfort the professor showed, was rolling his eyes. 

“Ignore him.” Logan said, gently pushing Patton away from him. “I’m here to offer you a deal, Virgil.” The warlock felt like he was staring at Logan’s eyes too much, but the nobleman didn’t seem to mind at all. “Come with me to my manor. Become my apprentice and we can hone your talents and skills in magic, beyond these light art lessons and closed-minded humans. I can teach you all about nature, about the night and day. The stars and the moon. What do you say?”

He phrased that offer in such a sophisticated manner that Virgil had to repeat that whole speech in his head just to make sure he was hearing it right, and also because it sounded so nice coming from Logan’s deep and cool voice. Also, was that blueberry he was smelling, coming from Logan?

“You…” Virgil was having a hard time forming a sentence with all his thoughts. “Want me as your apprentice?” 

He expected Logan to look annoyed because he had to repeat himself, but once again, the prince didn’t seem to mind. “Yes, Virgil. I’ve spoken to Valerie and your king, and they have both said that you are the most powerful dark arts wizard in the Sanders Kingdom. I would hate to see such potential go to waste.”

Virgil looked at Valerie for some kind of assurance. Because after living with her and Talyn for months now, they’ve grown close enough to think of each other as siblings. The priestess smiled and nodded, signaling her approval. 

“I would be delighted to become your apprentice. Thank you, Master Logan.” Virgil said as he gave a curt bow. 

“Please, you are my apprentice. Not my servant.” Logan said as he crossed his arms. “Call me Logan.” Inside his head, Virgil was hoping to get close enough to him that they’d start calling each other V and L. Then Logan’s gaze veered towards Virgil’s desk, where most of his books were. “You like to read about the stars?”

“Yes!” Virgil replied right away, a bit too enthusiastically. “I mean—yes, I do. I think the stars are one of the most beautiful yet mysterious creations in all of history.”

The vampire smiled, albeit a small one. “I’m glad to know that we think alike. I look forward to discussing the expanse of the universe and constellations with you.” He proclaimed as he turned his back and walked out of the door, taking one last good look at Virgil.

“Then it’s settled!” Valerie happily said with a clap. “Virgil, pack your things! Logan wants you to go tonight!”

“Wait, tonight?” 

“Yes, tonight!” Valerie reaffirmed, stepping closer to him. “I didn’t tell them about the other Logan and Patton.” She whispered to him with a sly smirk. 

With a grateful look, he took the lady’s hands in his. “Thank you, Valerie. For everything.”

“You’re ever welcome.” She said back to him, patting his head. “Make sure to say goodbye to Talyn and Terrance before you go, though!” 

“I will!” He said as he turned back to his bed and began to pack his things, and paused as his eyes landed on his pointy black hat. 

The same hat that Deceit had given to him after his first successful spell and that same hat that had been with him across the dimension and back.

He wore this hat to Deceit’s funeral. His brother’s favorite bowler hat was burned along with him at the funeral pyre. Deceit always disliked the idea of being buried six feet under dirt, so Thomas was kind enough to give him a private funeral. It was kind of ironic that the five most important people in the kingdom also attended the funeral, but Virgil was just thankful that he wasn’t alone. 

“Brother…” Virgil whispered, taking the hat off the rack and gazing out the window, cradling the hat close to his chest. “Things are getting better. _I’m_ doing better.”

Placing the hat within his bag, Virgil continued packing until his room was now empty of his belongings. He will miss his old kingdom. He misses his brother every single day. But that didn’t mean Virgil needed to stay stuck in one place. Here was someone that was technically his first love, and willing to take him out of the kingdom and to new beginnings. It was like the universe was sending him a sign.

Standing by the doorway, Virgil took one last look at his old room, and the window where he had a good view of the kingdom. “Goodbye.” He said with a smile as he slowly closed the door, with hope in his chest. 

“…And thank you.”

And with that, Virgil felt like he had finished one more chapter in his life, and knew he was starting a new one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who has supported and loved this story from the start, even when I couldn't decide on how many chapters this was going to have. Thank you everyone for the kudos and lovely comments. I think the ones from the last chapter were my favorite. Hahaha, anyway I'm not planning on making a sequel or anything like that because I'm happy with the way this ended. My mind could change in the future, but for now, I like it the way it is. 
> 
> I know the kiss was a little bit cheesy and awkward, but I felt like it was the best way for me to write it without making it too wordy. I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this chapters finale and thank you again!
> 
> (Also, foreshadowing since chapter 5~)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed this fic that popped into my head as I was reading other Sander Sides fics that also helped inspire this. Feedback is much appreciated!
> 
> Updates will be weekly. Thank you again!


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